


Anatomy of a Snowwoman

by thebandragoness



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Drama, Frozen Wight sequel, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life, philosophical ramifications of sentient snowmen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-02-26 20:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 62,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2665370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebandragoness/pseuds/thebandragoness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Elsa “let it go” and accepted her magic, she hadn't been aware she could bring snowmen to life. Elsa saw her snowmen as her children of sorts, so she felt it was her duty to care for them, but she wasn't prepared for Mary, a snowwoman who isn't quite as blissfully happy as her brother Olaf. Now Elsa must deal with a clingy, angsty snowwoman, said snowwoman's boyfriend, Fritz, who's totally over his feelings for Elsa, honest, and a cult devoted to worshiping “Elsa the Snow Goddess.”</p><p>Sequel to Frozen Wight, but it can stand on its own (but with some Frozen Wight spoilers).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Girl in the White Chair

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic takes place after my other fanfic, Frozen Wight. I recap everything important, so reading it isn't crucial to understanding this story. I'm pretty sure making a 300,000 word fanfic a prerequisite to this one would hurt its traffic somewhat. That being said, Frozen Wight probably provides some better context for Mary's backstory.
> 
> Also, THIS FANFIC WILL HAVE SPOILERS FOR FROZEN WIGHT. You've been warned.

_Scrtch, scrtch, scrtch..._

A white chair dragged across the grass. It was elegant and expensive and absolutely did not belong in the middle of the garden. The chair was deposited in front of a polished wooden coffee table that also didn't belong in the garden.

A teeny tiny girl with silvery hair overlooked her work proudly. The table was now surrounded by three chairs, and a nice selection of china was set atop it. The china didn't belong in the garden, either, but they had, like, eight thousand salad plates, so if one or two got lost, who was gonna miss it?

The girl held up a shapeless stuffed rabbit. Whatever fur remained on it was matted and frozen together. The rabbit's texture wasn't particularly soft anymore, but it was a _familiar_ texture, and to a three year old girl, that counts for a lot. The girl tossed the toy onto one of the two brown chairs, then pulled herself onto the other one. This took a bit of climbing, though, seeing as the girl was hardly taller than the chair leg. Now that everyone was finally seated, the girl held her hands above the three plates and wiggled her fingers. The plates were filled with a light dusting of snow, then passed out to each guest.

The pretend partygoers were just beginning their pretend meal when a beautiful, non-pretend woman very, very slowly approached them.

“What are you up to, Elsa?” she chuckled.

“Having a solstice feast.” Elsa spoke in the clearest, most regal voice a three-year-old was capable of.

“Didn't we just get back from one?” Mama laughed again. “Was it not enough for you?”

Elsa shook her head. “My friends weren't there, so we're having another one.”

“Oh, I see. It looks delicious.” Mama eyed one of the snow-filled plates. “Wow, you made a lot.”

“I had to hold it in all day,” Elsa said simply. “It always wants to come out when I hold it in.”

Elsa scrunched up her nose at the memory. She was too polite to say anything, but she hadn't particularly liked today's solstice feast. Her parents had warned her about strangers and imposed this pointless rule where Elsa couldn't make any snow in front of them. It'd felt like Elsa had gone the whole feast without scratching an itch. So, obviously, it was necessary to have a second solstice feast to improve things.

“I'm sorry, Elsa.” With a bit of effort, Mama knelt down to kiss her forehead. “Your papa and I love your magic, but there are some people who wouldn't understand it, and we don't want them to bother you. You can show off your snow to the whole world once you're old enough to handle them, I promise.”

Elsa's only reply was a small nod.

Mama put on a smile. “Mind if I join you?”

She moved for the white chair, but Elsa suddenly cried out, “Wait! Don't sit there!”

Mama halted. “Why not?”

“You'll sit on Mary!” Elsa pointed to the patch of empty space seated in the chair.

“Ah. Of course.” Mama pulled away, then mimed patting an invisible person on the head. “Sorry about that, Mary.”

“You can have Sussebassen's spot.” Elsa grabbed the stuffed rabbit and tossed it into the dirt.

“Thank you.” With a bit of struggling, Mama managed to seat herself. “Don't you think you should be more careful with your toys, though?”

Elsa shook her head, then glared at the rabbit. “Sussebassen was bad.”

“ _No_.” Mama feigned shock. “What did he do?”

“He... He got mad when...” Elsa grasped for words, but her three year old vocabulary could only supply so much. “...when I couldn't use my magic at the feast. He wanted me to use it. He didn't want me to mind you. So he was bad.”

Mama's eyes fell on Elsa. “And why do you think that made him mad?” she asked softly.

“'Cause people don't understand him,” said Elsa. “Sometimes people don't understand Sussebassen, Mama, and it makes him mad, and then he does bad things. But Sussebassen isn't always bad, and he's sorry.”

Mama ran a hand through Elsa's hair. “Elsa, honey? I wish you'd spoken to some of the other children at the feast. You're the princess – you won't have too many chances to meet kids your age.”

Elsa shrank back. “I have Mary.”

Mama smiled and shook her head. “Well, I suppose that's true. You'll always have Mary.” She gave Elsa another kiss, then, after some more struggling, rose to her feet. “I love you, Elsa.”

“Love you, too, Mama.”

And with that, Mama walked away.

The king was waiting for his wife at the garden entrance. “How is she?”

“She's making more and more snow,” said the queen. “I don't think she realizes it's anything out of the ordinary. I'm just afraid one day she'll use her magic in front of the wrong person, and then...”

The king took her hand in his. “We don't hire any staff we don't trust. Elsa is perfectly safe.”

“Not when she's in public,” said the queen. “It's hard enough for a princess to make friends already. Did you know she's started making up imaginary people? She needs a _real_ friend. Someone who can know about her snow.”

His wife's face was full of concern, but the king just chuckled. “You worry too much, dear.” He pecked her cheek. “Elsa will have a friend soon enough. You know that. It was the whole point.”

The queen let out a wry laugh. “I know, I know... I just-” She stopped mid-sentence, an odd expression overtaking her face.

“What's wrong?” frowned the king. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Elsa's friend is coming sooner than we thought,” the queen said faintly. “My water just broke.”

Elsa, being three, did not have the clearest understanding of female biology. However, when she heard Papa screaming for the midwife, she got a pretty good idea what was happening. The next instant, Elsa hopped out of her seat to run after her parents, painting the grass white in her excitement, while some servants chased her in a frantic attempt to spare Elsa from satisfying her curiosity.

In the chaos, the white chair was knocked over and smashed into the dirt. It stayed that way for the rest of the night.

* * *

All was calm and silent in Arendelle castle. The Northern Lights flooded through the nursery window, illuminating the figure of a silvery-haired little princess curled up under the covers, her chest rising and falling steadily. It was an angelic image. Well, until the demonic princess poked her head into view.

“Elsa! Psst!” The little gremlin climbed her way onto the mattress and gave her sister's shoulders a shake. “Elsa! Wake up, wake up, wake up!”

“Anna, go back to sleep.”

But there was no reasoning with the beast. Anna flopped onto her back and threw out her arms theatrically. “I just _can't!_ The _sky’s_ awake, so _I’m_ awake, so we have to _play!_ ”

“Go play by yourself.” Elsa's next strategy was to give Anna a good strong shove. Anna's butt hit the carpet, and for a minute, it seemed that Elsa had won the battle.

Then Anna played her trump card.

“Do you want to build a snooowmaaaaaaan?”

Somehow, Elsa ended up in the ballroom, shutting the door behind them as Anna dragged her by the hand.

“Do the magic! Do the magic!”

Anna's excitement was contagious. With a quick gesture, Elsa eagerly conjured up a snowball amidst a flurry of glowing blue snowflakes. “Ready?”

It'd taken a bit of experimenting, but Elsa had eventually figured out that the trick to making it snow was to hurl your snowball as high in the air as you could and then explode it. The glowing snowflakes blasted across the ceiling and fell gently to the floor.

“ _This is amaaaaaaaziiiiiiing!_ ”

“Watch this!”

This next trick, Elsa was especially proud of. For the longest time, she'd thought she could only channel her magic through her hands, but as it turned out, her feet worked just fine, too. With a stomp of her slipper, Elsa transformed the ballroom floor into a skating rink.

Once Elsa made enough snow, it was just a matter of stealing a carrot from the kitchen along with some charcoal and twigs from the fireplace, and _viola –_ the girls had themselves one lumpy, bucktoothed snowman.

Elsa wiggled its stick-arms and put on a goofy voice. “Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!”

“I love you, Olaf!” Anna tested out their creation. Yep, perfectly huggable. The girls carried on playing and didn't give it much more thought. Why should they? It was just a snowman.

Except no, it wasn't just a snowman. It was a snowman _built by children_ , and children, in case you never were one, have imaginations. When Elsa put on a goofy voice and said, “Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs,” what she was actually doing was creating a vivid and elaborate personalty. From that one sentence, Elsa had subconsciously decided on Olaf's thoughts, dreams, likes, dislikes, interpersonal relations with her other imaginary friends, _everything_ , all in the span of a split second.

And that meant Olaf was a person. A lovably inept person, maybe, but a person nonetheless. Olaf was not, however, quite the same kind of person as you and me. For one, he lacked the somewhat important ability to think. And as some wise person probably once said, _I do not think, therefore I am not_.

Another difference between real and imaginary people: When you don't remember imaginary people, they go away. Which meant that when Elsa watched a freezing cold five-year-old tumble to the ballroom floor, Olaf stopped existing long before his physical body tipped over and crumbled.

* * *

All was calm and silent in Arendelle castle. Elsa was sitting up in bed, staring at the wall, her chest rising and falling. She wasn't in the nursery – she had her own bedroom now. A bedroom with no little gremlins begging to play with her in the middle of the night.

Elsa fought to keep her face blank. It wasn't fair. The rules had changed on her. They weren't “Don't use your magic in front of strangers” anymore. They were “Don't use your magic.” Even now, Elsa could feel it squirming against the inside of her gloves, waiting for its chance to escape.

“ _Mrowr?_ ” There came a pawing at the door. That was Cocoa Beans (Anna had done the honors of naming her). Cocoa Beans had a habit of coming to Elsa's room whenever she wanted someone to pay attention to her. She hadn't realized yet that the rules had changed. She was going to keep asking Elsa to play with her like she always did, and her every invitation would be rejected again and again until she finally gave up and forgot about Elsa.

Elsa stared at the blue gloves on her hands. She wouldn't be wearing them forever, Papa had assured her. They would come off once she had mastery of her ice. Once she could safely touch things with her bare hands.

“ _Mrowr?_ ” When the door failed to open, the pawing intensified.

Elsa took a breath. This was ridiculous. She pet Cocoa Beans all the time! Sure, Elsa had frozen her tail once while horsing around with Anna, but Elsa had never _hurt_ Cocoa Beans. Elsa could see it now: Mama and Papa would come to check on her, only to find Elsa with her gloves off and Coco Beans curled up on her lap. They'd laugh about how worried they'd been over nothing, and then the gates would reopen and there'd be plenty of snowman-building and everything would be fine.

Elsa hopped out of her covers, unlocked the door, and opened it just enough for the dark brown tabby to squeeze inside before locking it back. Cocoa Beans purred and rubbed against her legs. Elsa laughed anxiously.

Faintly through the walls, Elsa overheard the sounds of an argument. Apparently, one of the servants had made a smart remark about the king's and queen's new parenting methods. Elsa had never heard Papa raise his voice before. It made her shiver (which Elsa didn't do too often).

“Mrowr?” said Cocoa Beans.

Really, this whole situation was silly. That “frozen head” ordeal hadn't happened because Elsa couldn't control her powers. She'd just slipped on her own ice and had bad aim, and then, in the ensuing panic, Elsa had simply lost her nerve. That was the only reason her ice wasn't obeying her. Elsa would just be more careful next time, and it would never happen again. Problem solved.

Elsa locked eyes with the cat, then slowly slipped off a glove. She let her bare hand hang in the air for a minute. No frost was shooting out, so that was a good sign. Inch by inch, Elsa brought her palm nearer to Coco Beans, hovering it above the cat's head. Elsa found herself holding her breath. No sense dragging this out. On the count of three, she'd bring her hand to the fur and commence petting.

One... two...

 _You'll kill it_ , said Mary.

Elsa froze. Her eyes wandered towards the mirror resting above her dresser. Elsa's reflection looked back at her.

 _Everything you touch dies_ , said Mary.

Elsa stared somewhat stupidly at the mirror, her hand still hanging over Cocoa Beans. Elsa thought she'd outgrown her imaginary friend years ago. Now that she thought about it, though, Elsa had only ever imagined Mary's presence when she was left alone for too long, so it wasn't that Mary had gone away – there just hadn't been much need for her these last few years.

But now, here Mary was, the same as when Elsa was three. She'd always have Mary.

Maybe saying imaginary people can't think isn't completely accurate. It's not that they don't have thoughts – It's just that they have someone else doing the thinking for them. Mary was little more than a puppet guided along by Elsa's strings. When baby Anna had been busy sleeping, when Mama and Papa had been busy in council meetings, Elsa had wanted a friend who would always pay attention to her, who cared about her more than anything else, and that's exactly what Mary had been. Mary herself had had no say in the matter.

That being said, Mary did have a way of voicing the thoughts Elsa never dared think.

 _You'll kill it_ , Mary repeated.

Elsa's eyes drifted back to the cat. _But if I_ don't _kill it_ , she told Mary, _I can see Anna again_. Her hand hit fur. A moment passed. Cocoa Beans purred contently. Elsa allowed herself to smile.

But it always wanted to come out when she held it in.

* * *

 _I tried to warn her_ , Mary thought.

Mary... thought? Mary thought!

_Elsa stared at the cat as it writhed about on the carpet, hissing and twitching. Its brown fur was rapidly whitening. Mary was right._

That hadn't been Mary's thought. It'd been _Elsa's_ thought. Those were different things now? There were “Elsa's thoughts” and “Mary's thoughts?”

All her strings were cut at once, and now Mary was expected to figure out how to move all on her own. Her first impulse was to scream, but she couldn't. She didn't have a body. She didn't have a body! Mary's entire world was chaos. This wasn't right! Mary wasn't supposed to think all on her own! She had to return to normal! Mary instantly retreated deeper into Elsa's mind. That's where she'd come from, after all. It was a soothing, womb-like place.

_Mary was right, and now Mama and Papa were going to find the cat, and they would see what Elsa had done to it, and Elsa would be locked away forever and she'd never be allowed near Anna again-_

Mary could feel Elsa's heart pumping, her stomach churning. An intense, _intense_ sense of empathy washed over Mary. This was her Elsa, the dearest thing in the world to her. Mary had literally been born to love her. She'd barely been sentient for five seconds, and already Mary wanted nothing more than to comfort her Elsa, to make everything alright.

_Elsa wanted to hide the cat, wanted to stop anyone from ever learning the truth, but somehow, her body refused to cooperate. Instead, she found herself shrieking at the top of her lungs._

“ _Elsa, what's wrong?_ _Are you hurt?_ ” Immediately, there was pounding on the door, followed by the jingling of keys. The door swung open, and a woman dashed into the room. Her face was instantly familiar to Mary – this was Mama.

No, not “Mama.” This was _Elsa's_ mama. Mary had never met her. How could she have? Mary had been born seconds ago. So then... Mary had Elsa's memories? She must have had them because she was inside Elsa's mind, Mary realized. She had to get out. There weren't supposed to be _two_ people resting behind Elsa's eyeballs. Mary couldn't even move in here. She was nothing but an observer – a prisoner in Elsa's body.

_Mama looked from the cat to Elsa with a mixture of revulsion and horror on her face. She ran towards her child._

“ _Stay back!” Elsa screamed, stumbling backwards. The ice was out in an instant, forming a protective line of icicles that stopped inches from Mama's stomach._

When the ice erupted from Elsa's hand, Mary felt something stir inside her, like a tension easing. Suddenly, Mary understood – She _was_ Elsa's magic. Mary's entire being was composed of it.

_Mama returned to the bedroom with Papa in tow, her chest heaving from sheer panic. For a moment, Papa merely stared at Elsa while she wept._

“ _Elsa... why?” he said faintly. “You know you're dangerous!”_

_Elsa's heart hammered her chest. She would be punished for this. They were going to lock her away. They couldn't know it was Elsa's fault! They couldn't know!_

_Elsa weakly raised her head. Her answer was barely audible. “Mary told me to.”_

Had Elsa just acknowledged Mary's existence? She... She could feel Mary was in her mind? Mary immediately tried to convey her deep sense of love and devotion to her creator. She would always be there for Elsa! She'd love her more than anything!

_Elsa couldn't bring herself focus on the strange, disconcerting thoughts in her head. All Elsa's mind would dwell on was the lifeless cat at her feet, the terror on her parents' faces... She would never be allowed to see Anna again._

A knife had driven through Mary's entire being. Elsa had... had cast Mary aside like she was nothing more than a stray thought? What her creator, the one Mary loved above all else, truly wanted was... Anna?

The memories came flooding into Mary – all those times Elsa had abandoned her play dates with Mary to hover over Anna's cradle. What had been so interesting about her? She'd just been a stupid baby! But the more time had passed, the less often Mary had been called into existence. The less she was needed or wanted. How many years had it been since Elsa last played with Mary? Since she'd last _thought about_ Mary?

Through Elsa's eyes, Mary caught sight of her mama and papa. How dare these people lock Elsa away? Mary would never do that to her. Mary could never hurt Elsa, and she could never be hurt by Elsa, not like Anna. In fact, it seemed to Mary that _she_ was exactly what Elsa needed... and these people were not.

“ _Mary was right. Everything I touch dies.”_

“ _Elsa-”_

_It was like someone had wrenched control of her body. The next thing Elsa knew, she was sobbing hysterically as a freezing wind swirled around her, faster and faster, sending her second glove flying off her hand. In the span of seconds, Elsa's bedroom transformed into the heart of a snowstorm._

“ _Elsa!” yelled Papa. “You're letting your emotions control you!_ You _have to control_ them! _”_

Mary couldn't laugh in this bodiless form, but she still felt humor well up inside her. Elsa wouldn't listen to this man anymore. She belonged to Mary now. Mary could feel the magic pouring out of Elsa, the magic that _was_ Mary. Most of itmanifested as a violent snowstorm, but some of the snowflakes clumped together behind Elsa, stacking until they became a wiry, humanoid shape, like veins of ice.Soon Mary would have a body of her own, and she and Elsa could be together.

Mary felt more humor welling up in her. _See, Elsa?_ she thought. _You don't n_ _eed Anna to build_ _a snowman_.

It was working. Mary could feel it. She wasn't seeing through Elsa's eyes anymore, she was seeing through the face of the snowman. Mary turned her newly-formed head towards the door. Out in the hall, Elsa's parents seemed to be devising a plan. Mary saw a servant hand them something that she couldn't quite make out through the blinding snow.

Then Elsa's papa brought his lips to her mama's. This gave Mary pause. What Mary had just witnessed was pure passion, captured in this one, picturesque moment before the king dived headfirst into the snowstorm. Mary had never thought about it before – though, to be fair, she hadn't been sentient for very long – but it was a beautiful concept. These two people had married, had taken vows that they would never be apart. Never abandon each other.

Mary stared at her wiry, half-formed hand. Whatever it was Elsa's parents had, Mary wanted it.

But Mary didn't have long to dwell on her newfound desire. Elsa's papa fought through the blizzard and brought a rag to Elsa's face. This confused Mary. What was he giving her? Some sort of medicine? See, Mary only knew as much as her creator did, and, being an eight year old, Elsa had no idea what chloroform was.

Elsa's sobs finally quieted, and she collapsed into her papa's arms, her eyelids drooping. The snowstorm crawled to a halt, and the rest of the snow drifted gently to the floor, looking far more tranquil than it had a minute ago.

Every inch of Mary's new body trembled with rage. What had this man done to Elsa? Had he hurt her? But Mary barely had time to realize what was happening before her unfinished body crumbled back into snowflakes.

Without a proper body, Mary's consciousness snapped back into Elsa's mind. There were once again two people behind Elsa's eyeballs, and, since Elsa happened to be passed out at the moment, Mary quickly followed suit.

Mary had never fallen asleep before, so she had no idea what was happening to her. All she knew was that the world was growing dimmer. She fought for a few horrifying seconds before surrendering to the blackness.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, Mary came to. But even though she was awake, the world around her was still blackness. Mary sensed Elsa's thoughts – they were vague and disjointed.

Oh, Mary knew what was happening. She was awake, but Elsa wasn't. Mary had almost been euphoric right before Elsa passed out, but now she was terrified. What was happening? What were Elsa's parents doing to her? Mary was starting to seriously miss being an unthinking figment of Elsa's imagination.

She felt the steady rise and fall of Elsa's body. Elsa was bobbing up and down, wind blowing through her hair. A pair of arms were gripping Elsa tight. The most Mary could tell was that Elsa was on horseback. She had no clue how much time passed, but eventually Mary felt Elsa's body come to a halt, then get carried off the horse. They'd reached their destination, wherever it was.

“Hello?” The voice of Elsa's papa sounded like it was miles away. “We need you again! Elsa killed a cat, and then her powers went completely out of control!”

Something clicked in Mary's head. She couldn't remember it herself, but Mary had Elsa's memories, so she knew where they were. Elsa's parents had brought her to the trolls.

She caught hushed voices, but they spoke too softly for Mary to make out the words. Then, a blue light shone through the back of Elsa's eyelids. Magic, Mary realized. The troll shaman who'd saved Anna was using magic on Elsa. But what could he be...?

Mary felt a shiver run through her entire being. All of a sudden, she wasn't alone in Elsa's head. There was a third mind. If Mary had had a heartbeat, it would've beaten faster. The troll could sense her. He knew she was here.

Fear gave way to anger. What was he going to do? Was he going to hurt Elsa? Was he going to take Mary away from her? She wanted to scream at the troll, but Mary found herself struggling to form words:

_El... sa... is... mine..._

Mary felt the troll's mind pause. He seemed to be hesitating, indecisive.

 _Not... sis... ter's_ , Mary spat. _Not... pa... rents'... Mine._

Mary pictured Elsa's face. That was something she hadn't been able to do back before she could think: make a picture in her head. Elsa was a beautiful, wonderful little girl with silvery hair and deep blue eyes, and Mary wanted nothing more than to be with her creator and hold her and love her and kiss her and assure her everything would be alright, her Mary was here, there was no need for sisters or parents anymore, nothing would ever hurt her again.

But then Mary felt something... _changing_ in Elsa's memories. _The image of a cat growing limp changed to an image of Elsa nodding off with a book in her lap._ With a pang, Mary realized what was happening. No. _No!_ Elsa couldn't forget her Mary! She _needed_ Mary! Without her Mary there to love her, Elsa would be alone and locked away and- _The image of an imaginary friend in a white chair changed to an image of Elsa having a solstice feast completely alone._

When you don't remember imaginary people, they go away.


	2. Phantoms of Arendelle

Mary's eyes shot open, but the world didn't look any different. She was in total blackness. Mary wished not for the first time that she had lungs so she could hyperventilate. At least then she'd have some way to express her panic. It was just the dark, she reminded herself. It wasn't the same as being erased. Mary was still _there_ – She could still wiggle her icy fingers and sit up on the sofa. She just couldn't see anything.

Mary had let her mind wander, and while she wasn't paying attention, the candle had gone out. Mary's hands had a habit of moving themselves towards any heat source, which of course had caused her personal flurry to snow all over the candle to keep said hands from melting. Mary hadn't been able to help herself – Heat felt _so good_.

Mary groped around in the darkness, but the candle matches eluded her. Oh well, it'd been too dim to read properly anyways. Mary rose to her feet and fumbled blindly for the library exit.

Arendelle was one of those places up north wherethe daylight worked overtime. Nobody in their right mind ought to be awake at this hour, and yet here Mary was. Yes, she was supposed to be asleep – In fact, her icy eyelids even felt heavy – but rest eluded her. Something was troubling Mary. Something that had brought her to the castle library at two in the morning to look at anatomy books. The only problem was, the light had started to fade, and even with a candle, this had made reading challenging. Now Mary was once again restless, and it was still hours until sunrise.

Eventually, Mary felt her way into the hall. At least, she _thought_ it was the hallway – The ground felt like cold stone against her feet, not like carpet. Mary assumed this was the hallway's floor, but honestly, the exact layout of the castle alluded her. She hadn't been here that long. Well, actually, Mary had run around the halls with Elsa all the time back when she was just an imaginary friend, but oddly, snowmen seemed to have trouble remembering anything from before they came to life.

Mary inhaled and exhaled – though given her lack of lungs, it was only for the sake of comforting herself. There was no reason to feel anxious. This was the exact same castle as it was during the daytime. All that had changed was Mary's ability to perceive it. It was nothing but a trick of the mind. Mary forced herself to focus on the differences instead of the similarities. When she'd been erased, she hadn't been able to breathe. Hadn't been able to wiggle her toes. Hadn't been able to think. This wasn't the same. This wasn't the same. The darkness couldn't hurt her.

Suddenly, Mary caught the sound of footsteps. Something was coming closer to her. Consciously, Mary knew whatever it was probably couldn't hurt snowmen, but it didn't stop the anxiety from welling up inside her.

“Hi, Mary!”

Mary flinched as a little lump of snow waddled towards her. The hallways were lit by a lantern, which Olaf was struggling to lift with his twig-arms. From what Mary understood, regular, non-snow people's eyes would've been hurt by the sudden brightness.

“Olaf?” said Mary. “What are you doing up?”

“Hunting for phantoms,” said Olaf. “I thought I heard a thump in the library-”

“That was just me reading.”

Olaf's mouth curled into a bucktoothed frown. “But isn't everyone else asleep? Who reads to you?”

“I know how to read,” Mary said somewhat defensively.

Olaf was awestruck. “You mean you learned the numbers of the alphabet _all by yourself_ _?_ ”

Mary shook her head. “I didn't learn anything. I just know how to read. I've always known.” This gave her pause. That was... peculiar, now that she thought about it.

“Well, what were you reading?”

“A human anatomy book.”

Olaf's face was a perfect blank. “Wow, that's... neat.” But his enthusiasm only wavered a moment. “Ooh, ooh, Gerda's been reading me a way better book! One about phantoms! C'mon, I'll show you!” He scurried into the library, and Mary was forced to follow after him lest she be left alone in the dark again.

Olaf set down his lantern and retrieved a book he'd left on one of the tables. “This book says that phantoms are ghosts that get stuck in this world, and they love haunting big old castles like this one.”

“And you actually believe that?” Mary laughed.

“ _Mary!_ ” Olaf pointed to the book's title: _Do Not Laugh at Phantoms!_

“Oh, sorry.” Mary put on a more solemn face.

“Ghosts are totally real,” said Olaf. “I'm pretty sure the only reason they seem so spooky is because they're lonely. That's why I've been spending every night looking for them. I bet a warm hug would cheer them right up.”

Mary smirked. “Well, then, I hope you can help the poor little ghosts.”

“ _Mary!_ ” Olaf pointed to the book's sequel: _Do Not Patronize Ghosts!_

“Sorry, sorry...”

“Now c'mon, you can help me ghost-hunt.” Olaf's twig-arm grabbed her icy one. “I know the perfect ghost hiding spot!” Mary barely had time to grab the lantern before Olaf dragged her back into the hallway. The two of them dashed through twisting staircases and creaky doors.

“Slow down!” said Mary in a harsh whisper. She held the lantern closer, admiring its warmth. But while Mary was glad for the light source, something about the shadows it cast over everything made the castle even more unnerving.

“Hmm... It'd be easier to find the perfect hiding spot if there was more light in here,” said Olaf, “but then the ghosts wouldn't want to come out. Ghosts only come out at night. That's the phantom rules.”

“That reminds me, I was reading something really interesting in the anatomy book about how eyeballs use light,” said Mary. “Light comes into the pupil, and then the lens focuses it into the retina-”

“Oh, don't worry, I already know how eyeballs work,” cut in Olaf. “You just point them at stuff, and then you see it, right?”

Mary faltered. “I guess so...”

“Aha! Here it is.” Olaf triumphantly led Mary towards a large mirror on a nearby wall. “There's a bunch of secret passageways behind this thing. I found it when Elsa, Anna, and me got stuck back here and had a wacky misadventure. It'd be a great plot for a book, come to think of it...”

But Mary's attention was fixed less on Olaf and more on her reflection. Her mama, Elsa, had designed Mary to resemble a beautiful girl just younger than Anna. Mary's snowy white hair hung unbraided off her head, trailing well past her shoulders, and her ice-skin was flawless and clear, nearly transparent. Mary's face had been based off of Elsa's, Anna's, and their late mother's. It was important, Elsa had said, that Mary looked like part of the family. She'd even provided Mary with an ice-dress of her own – one with a slightly different design from Elsa's – as well as a pair of ice-high heels, though walking in them was a pain. Once her mama wasn't looking, Mary had ditched them and gone barefoot. They'd probably melted by now without her personal flurry.

Overall, Mary looked like an ice-statue brought to life, though her body was magically much softer, fleshier, and flexible than a statue's. Unlike Elsa's other snowmen, Mary was shaped almost exactly like a regular human – at least on the outside. She had cavities for her mouth, throat, and eye sockets, but everything else inside Mary was solid ice. No heart, no lungs, no stomach, just ice. When you thought about it, it... didn't really make sense.

“Isn't it weird that we can move without any muscles?” Mary asked aloud.

Olaf pondered this for a moment. “I guess being a _moving_ talking snowman's not any weirder than being a talking snowman.”

“And what about our eyes?” Mary leaned forward to examine her face in the mirror. “That book said people's eyes have rods and cones and optic nerves and all sorts of things, but ours are just ice.” On closer inspection, Mary's eyes were nothing but ice-orbs. Even her pupils and irises were just blue frost “painted on” by Elsa's magic.

“Hmm... I'd never thought about it before...” Olaf brought a stick to his face and gouged out an eye. It plopped into his twig-hands so he could examine it closer. Unlike Mary's, Olaf's eyes seemed to be made up of some sort of shiny snow with coal embedded in them for the pupils. “I don't have a medical degree, but I think the scientific explanation is that they're magical eyeballs.”

“But that raises even more questions!” said Mary. “If snowmen use magic to see, why do we need eyes in the first place?”

“Well, Marshmallow gets along fine without 'em...”

“And what about brains? How do we think without brains?”

“You're worrying about this way too much, Mary,” laughed Olaf, squeezing his eye back into its socket. “I don't need a brain. Look how smart I am already!”

Mary was less than reassured by this.

“Okay, enough chit-chat, we've got ghosts to hunt.” Olaf waddled over to the mirror and swung it open like a door, revealing a tunnel behind it. Mary reluctantly followed him inside, holding the lantern close. If she didn't like the regular castle at night, Mary _especially_ didn't like this secret tunnel.

“You know, I was reading another book earlier.” Mary spoke more because she was nervous than because she had anything to say. “It was about cats.”

“Oh, so you _can_ read books that aren'ttotally boring,” Olaf said earnestly (He didn't have a sarcastic bone in his body. Or any other kind of bone, really).

“Cats can-” Mary's voice caught in her throat.

_It was hissing in agony as frost trailed down its limbs, into its mouth, its fur whitening, the horror in Elsa's eyes-_

“Cats can see in the dark,” Mary forced herself to finish.

“How did the guy who wrote the book know that?” asked Olaf. “Was he a cat?”

“It got me thinking,” said Mary. “If Elsa made a snow-cat and brought it to life, would it be able to see in the dark, too?”

“Probably.”

“So then, if _it_ could see in the dark, why can't we?”

“Because we're not cats.”

“But the snow-cat wouldn't have _real_ cat eyes,” said Mary. “They'd be magic ones. And if Elsa can make magic cat eyes for a snow-cat, why can't she give _me_ cat eyes? Why can't she make me see in the dark?”

“Wait, I'm confused,” said Olaf. “Are you saying you want to be a cat?”

Mary let out a huff. “No, aren't you listening? I'm saying I want to see in the dark.”

“I mean, I don't blame you. Everybody wants to be a-”

“Oh, forget it!” Mary turned away from him, scowling. “You don't understand.”

“Wait a minute.” Olaf spun his head her way, his eyes narrowing. “Are you just saying all this because you're scared of the dark?”

Mary gave a start. “N-No, of course not. I'm not a baby.”

Olaf immediately eased up. “Oh, okay, just checking.” Suddenly, he froze. “Do you hear that?” he whispered.

There was a dead silence.

“No,” Mary whispered back.

“Exactly,” said Olaf. “Total quiet is a sign of a Class-Three Haunting if there ever was one! I betcha there's a ghost right down there.” He pointed to the bottom of a nearby staircase.

Somehow, the thought of this made Mary's stomach churn – figuratively speaking. “Olaf, do you... do you honestly think phantoms are real?”

“Yeah, of course,” said Olaf.

“But don't they scare you?”

“I don't see what's so scary about ghosts,” shrugged Olaf. “Even if they act mean sometimes, they're probably just misunderstood, like Elsa or Marshmallow or Hans. No, wait, Hans is a bad example.”

Mary hugged the lantern tighter, letting the warmth soothe her. “But nobody knows anything about phantoms. How do we know they won't hurt us?”

“Oh, I know plenty about phantoms,” said Olaf. “A phantom's a lost soul who wanders the castle at night. They were supposed to die, but they were too scared to, and they got stuck. Since they're not supposed to be here, they don't really have a point, so they're end up being sad all the time.”

“I see.” Mary bowed her head, the lantern light casting her face into shadows.

“And there's probably one right down the stairs! Come on!” Olaf scurried down the stairs and into the darkness.

“Olaf, wait-” Mary hurried after him with the lantern, but she was too late. From the dark, she heard an “Oof!” and then a _plop._ By the time Mary reached the foot of the stairs, Olaf was splattered all the way down the steps. Not only had he split into his three segments, but the segments had lost their shape, so now Olaf was nothing but a pile of mush with some twigs and coal mixed in.

“ _Olaf!_ ” Mary ran to the blotch of snow with the carrot in it, which was where Olaf's mouth seemed to have magically manifested now that he lacked anything resembling a head. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I, uh, might have tripped.” Olaf's voice sounded a bit distorted coming from the shapeless mush. “Man, talk about falling apart...”

“You have to be _careful_ , Olaf!” Mary once again found herself wishing she could hyperventilate. “You're lucky I was here. You could've been stuck like this!”

“So? I come apart all the time. It's no big deal.”

“Yes it is!” Mary's lip was trembling. She knelt down to mold Olaf's head back into its proper shape. “People never come down this way. You'd be trapped forever! You wouldn't be able to move or think and it would be dark and Elsa would forget you existed and-”

“Mary?” Mary had returned Olaf's head to its approximate shape, and how he was peering at her with concern. “You okay?”

Mary paused. Her insides were in a vice grip. “I'm fine.” She forced a smile. “You're my brother. I worry about you.”

Olaf smiled back. “Hey, could you do me a favor and grab my butt? I know it's around here somewhere.”

Mary let out a sigh. “I'm no good at building snowmen. I know a way to fix you faster. Stay here. I'll be back in a minute, I promise.”

“Sure, I can stay here,” said Olaf's disembodied head. “I, uh, don't exactly have much choice...”

Mary scooped Olaf's snow into one big pile so his personal flurry could cover it, then grabbed the lantern and ran off. She hurried out of the mirror, through the castle halls, up a spiral staircase, and across the bed chambers, where she finally reached her destination.

Mary stopped at a bedside and shook the shoulders of the person under the covers. “Mama, Mama!”

“Ugh... Mary?” Elsa rolled over towards her, rubbing her eyes. “What is it?”

“Olaf tripped, and his pieces completely split apart!” said Mary. “You have to come help him!”

“Alright, alright...”

Elsa didn't seem incredibly happy to get out of bed at – according to the clock on the wall – three in the morning, but nonetheless she ran through the halls in her ice-nightgown, letting Mary guide her through the mirror and to the foot of the stairs. One wave of Elsa's hand and flash of magic later, Olaf was back in his proper shape, good as new. Elsa's wintry winds even returned his twigs, coal, and carrot to the right locations.

“Phew! Thanks a bunch, Elsa,” said Olaf.

“Be more careful, little guy.” Elsa yawned, then walked back up the stairs.

“Alright, back to hunting for ghosts.”

“You go on without me,” said Mary. “I've had enough ghost-hunting for one night.”

“Whatever you say.” And with that, Olaf grabbed the lantern and scurried off further down the tunnels.

“Hey! He took the light!” As the shadows fell, Mary impulsively drew nearer to her mama.

“Don't worry.” Suddenly, the hall was filled with a brilliant blue light. Elsa had held out a palm and conjured up a glowing mass of snowflakes.

With Elsa here, Mary's fears vanished alongside the darkness. “That's a new use of your powers.” This time, Mary's smile was genuine. “Makeshift lantern.”

Elsa nodded. “I need to get back to bed,” she said groggily. “Council meeting tomorrow...”

She didn't object when Mary took her hand. As the two of them walked side-by-side down the hallway, Mary felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. She wasn't erased anymore, and she had her creator. Her beloved. Her Elsa. All was right with the world.

But as quickly as it came, the moment passed. Elsa returned to her bed, and Mary had to release her hand.

“Goodnight, Mary. Love you.”

“Goodnight, Mama. I love you, too.”

Elsa brought her head to her pillow and closed her eyes.

Mary glanced at the clock on the wall. Three-ten. That meant Mary had to wait approximately forever until sunrise. And it was still too dark to read.

“Mama,” she said softly, “can I have cat eyes?”

Elsa's answer was hardly more than a garbled syllable. “ _Whuh?_ ”

“Never mind...”

Mary, unlike her mama, didn't feel the least bit tired. She didn't even bother pulling up a chair – it made no difference whether she sat or stood. And so, as she waited for sunrise, Mary watched Elsa sleep. Watched her chest rise and fall. Watched the breath escape her mouth and watched her eyebrows clench and wondered if her creator was having a nightmare.

Mary's thoughts drifted, once again, to her anatomy. That's what had kept her awake in the first place. Snowmen didn't need to eat food. They didn't need energy – They were kept going purely by magic. So then why would a snowman even need to sleep in the first place? It made no sense.

Nothing about Mary made sense.

“Mama?” For all the differences between human eyes and snowmen eyes, Mary could still cry. “Am I a phantom?”

The question received no response but the rise and fall of Elsa's chest.

 


	3. The Naked Truth

Mary must have stood by Elsa's bed for hours. With no heartbeat, no ache of her muscles, no breaths to count, it was easy for Mary to lose track of time. The sun would surely be rising any second now. Mary turned to the clock and strained to make out its face in the moonlight: Three-fifteen. She groaned.

Resigned, Mary took one last, longing look over the sleeping Elsa, then crept out the room. Mary had hoped a change of scenery would help pass the time, but the hall was no more interesting than anywhere else in the castle. Everything looked the same in the dark.

Mary found her eyes watering again. A normal person would've simply been bored right now. They wouldn't be bursting into tears over some nonsense about phantoms. Mary forced herself to breathe. If she spent another minute alone, she was going to lose her mind. But she couldn't keep pestering her mama, not when Elsa would be so busy in the morning. Who did that leave her?

Well, there was always her auntie. There was once a time when the thought of Anna made Mary quake with jealousy, but they'd long since buried the hatchet. Unfortunately, at this hour, Mary would be pushing her luck expecting Anna to open her eyes, let alone have an intelligible conversation. Anna's boyfriend, the strange, smelly man with the reindeer, had recently moved into the palace, too, but Mary didn't exactly know him well. Olaf would no doubt be chasing ghosts until sunrise. And there were usually a couple night guards around, but they always seemed unnerved by Mary's presence.

And then it hit Mary. Of course! How could she forget? Mary had a boyfriend now! Without further ado, she hurried into his bedroom and shut the door behind herself. There he was, curled up under the covers, snoring away.

Without meaning to, Mary smiled. Her boyfriend had the build of a flagpole – You'd have never guessed he was as old as seventeen – and, while he was far from ugly, his lumpy head kept him from being handsome. But so what if his hair was a dull brown and his nose was a smidge too large? He adored Mary. Just looking at him made her insides warm.

“Fritz?” Mary gave his shoulders a gentle shake.

“Huh? Wha?” Fritz said blearily.

“Can I sleep with you?”

“ _What?_ ” Suddenly, he was wide awake.

“I just want to lie next to you under the covers,” Mary clarified.

“Oh. Oh, right, of course. I... I knew that.”

Fritz made some room on the bed, and she climbed in. Fritz seemed unsure what to do, so Mary took the initiative, putting her arms around him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, Fritz. Sorry if I bothered you.”

“No, no, you're fine,” Fritz said breathlessly. “Goodnight.”

“I love you.”

“Uh, yeah, you, too.”

Mary smiled again, content. When she'd seen Elsa's and Anna's parents kiss, Mary had wanted what they'd had, but she hadn't fully understood what that was, exactly. Mary had only known as much as her creator, and Elsa had been eight at the time, so romance was a mystery that had eluded both of them. But now that Mary had a partner, she'd discovered it was less complex than she'd thought. You simply kissed, cuddled, and acted happy around them, and your partner would act happy in return, and that's all there was to it. Mary didn't know why Fritz had just acted oddly or why he seemed so tense now that she was putting her arms around his waist, but she was sure he was only shy.

Once they'd learned she'd wanted a partner, Elsa and Anna had set Mary up with Fritz, and the two of them had hit it off. From what Elsa had told Mary, Fritz had been a member of the royal guard who Elsa had befriended. As it turned out, Fritz's parents hadn't treated him too well – his father had walked out and his mother was currently in prison – and Elsa had naturally been sympathetic.

Mary watched Fritz's chest rise and fall steadily. Had he fallen back asleep _already?_ Oh well, Mary supposed lying in bed with Fritz was a better way to pass the time than roaming the halls aimlessly. Sleep was still eluding her, but Mary could at least shut her eyes, make herself comfortable, and lie still for a while.

Oh well, Mary could wait. If being erased had taught Mary anything, it was how to be patient.

* * *

“Fritz! Fritz! Come on, wake up!”

The way Mary shook Fritz, you'd think Santa had left them presents. He pulled himself out of the covers, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Mary? Whutizzit?”

“The sun is rising!” Mary gleefully pulled back the window's curtains, but somehow Fritz failed to share her enthusiasm. “That means it's time to get up!”

“ _Mary!_ ” he groaned, yanking the covers over his head. “Just a few more hours...”

“ _Fritz!_ ” Mary made her poutiest face, but it failed to sway him. “Why would you _want_ to sleep in late? Isn't it boring?”

“Mary, please, I'm tired!”

Mary pondered this dilemma for a moment. “If you get up, we can kiss.” She threw herself back onto Fritz's bed. He found his heart beating faster as she crawled towards him. You'd be surprised how sexy someone made of solid ice can be.

“I, guh, uh-!” Important fact about Fritz: When it came to dealing with women, he had the mental fortitude of tissue paper.

Fritz's momma had somewhat sheltered him, and Mary's anatomy consisted entirely of ice and snow, so kissing each other on the lips was the naughtiest thing they knew how to do. If they wanted to be _really_ dirty, they used their tongues. Before having a girlfriend, Fritz had never thought there were situations where kissing a beautiful girl was the _less_ favorable option, but kisses are non-refundable, so he pretty much had to get out of bed now.

“Alright, alright,” he said, reluctantly crawling out the covers. “I'm awake.”

Honestly, Fritz had been hoping Mary would leave him to sleep in peace. She was adorable and he loved her, but Mary also happened to be freezing cold. Fritz's blankets were soaked from where her personal flurry had snowed all over them. And besides, Fritz hadn't been prepared for a gorgeous woman to spend the night in his bed. He didn't think Mary quite realized she'd left him feeling like an over-coiled spring.

“What are we going to do today?” asked Mary.

“I'm supposed to be starting my apprenticeship under Kai,” said Fritz. “I guess you can come with me, but it'll probably be boring. I mean, you don't really need a job, right? You can pretty much hang around the castle all the time like Anna and Olaf.”

Mary seemed disquieted by this. “That's right,” she said faintly. “I have no job.”

“Hey, uh, Mary?” Fritz said as he made his bed. “We've known each other a couple days now, but I don't think you ever told me about when Elsa first made you. I've been meaning to ask you. I think she made Olaf right after her coronation, but I don't remember you being around my first few weeks as a guard.”

“When she first made me?” A faraway look overcame Mary's eyes. “Well, I'm like Olaf. Elsa invented me when she was a child, but...” She hesitated before saying, “...but she didn't bring me to life until she was grown.”

“Why'd she do that?”

Mary rolled over on the mattress, hiding her face. “Elsa never _means_ to bring her snowmen to life. It happens when she feels strong emotions. When she made Olaf, she was happy, when she made Marshmallow, she was scared...”

“And when she made you?” asked Fritz.

There was a long silence before he received an answer, hardly more than a whisper: “Depressed.”

Fritz dealt with his blunder via a tactful apology. “Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know! I wasn't trying to be insensitive or anything!”

Mary feebly turned her head to give him a bittersweet smile. “It was the happiest day of my life. Even though she didn't remember me, Elsa brought me to life. I'd thought I'd be forgotten forever.”

Of course, Mary failed to mention her brief stint of existence when Elsa was eight... when that troll had erased her... but, well, there was no point bringing that up. Mary had... had nothing to say about it.

“Yes, sometimes Elsa still gets depressed, but that's okay. People don't heal overnight.” As she spoke, Mary made her way towards Fritz's bookcase. “And I'm happy that I exist, no matter what circumstances led to it. And I know you're happy with me...” She chuckled, then picked something up off the shelf. “...even if you wouldn't have minded being with her.”

She held up a stuffed bear wearing a sky blue dress and a blonde french braid.

“I, uh, might have had a slight crush on Elsa once,” Fritz said, his face reddening. “But I'm over it now. Really.”

“I understand.” Mary gave the bear a hug.

Fritz's eyes met the floor. “Hey, Mary, you can keep that bear if you want. I... I don't want it anymore, now that I'm over Elsa and all.”

“A present for me? Aww, you're sweet. I'm gonna go put this in my room.” Mary pecked him on the cheek, then scurried out the door.

Fritz watched her go. He lasted two whole minutes before screaming, “ _What have I done?_ ”

* * *

Mary made an effort not to look at people's faces. She was sick of the stares. Sick of the way their eyes darted away once she drew near. It was because there were so many staff members, Mary told herself. The castle had been virtually empty for over a decade, so Elsa had overcompensated when hiring. Mary hadn't done anything wrong. These people didn't hate her – they simply weren't used to her. There had to be plenty of staff who'd never laid eyes on a snowwoman before. Even Olaf earned the occasional stare, and he'd lived at the palace for well over a month.

Mary hugged her bear tighter and strolled down the hallway, tuning out the whispers, then pushed through the large double doors into the dining hall. She didn't come down this way often – food had never seemed too appealing to Mary – but she knew Elsa never deviated from her schedule. Eight o'clock was breakfast time. Mary found her seated at the royal end of the table, daintily cutting her sausage with a fork. Guilt bubbled up in Mary's chest when she spotted the bags under Elsa's eyes.

“Good morning, Mary.” At her approach, Elsa raised her head and smiled.

“Good morning, Mama.” Mary smiled back. It'd been far too long since she'd last seen those sharp blue eyes. “Look what Fritz gave me!” Mary held up her stuffed bear.

“Wow, he must really love you. That bear was his lifeblood.” Elsa let out a laugh. “Anyways, did Olaf have any more trouble last night?”

“I don't know. I didn't see him again.”

“Oh.” Elsa's attention returned to her food, and Mary had to fight down a pang of jealousy. “Well, what have you been up to, Mary?”

“Reading in the library, mostly.” Mary considered asking for cat eyes again, but somehow, now that the sun was up, the idea seemed stupid.

“That's nice.” Elsa managed to chew her food without making a sound. It was fascinating. “Sorry I don't have time to talk – I need to get to that council meeting soon.” Suddenly, she stood up.

“You're leaving already?” Mary gave a start.

“Sorry.” Elsa turned back to smile at her. “It was good to see you, though. I'm glad I'm not the only one up at the crack of dawn anymore. I'll be shocked if Anna's awake before dinner.”

She'd... She'd made her creator happy? Mary was glad for her personal flurry. Without it, she'd have melted on the spot.

* * *

Mary loved her bedroom. It had a gigantic bed, a table with paper and an inkwell, a bookshelf... The only problem was it was empty. There was nothing on the shelf but a lone stuffed bear. Well, it was better than nothing.

“Mary, Mary!” Just then, a misshapen head stuck through the doorway. “I found a ghost!” Olaf latched onto Mary's dress with a stick-arm. “C'mon, you've gotta see it!”

“A ghost?” Mary was lead out her room and down the spiral stairs. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it's definitely real.”

Olaf brought her to the palace gardens. Mary hadn't been out this way much, but maybe she should've come more often. Everywhere the eye could see, there was gorgeous shrubbery glistening with rainwater, and the air was pleasant and cool. Well, Mary had preferred the summer heat, but she didn't mind the cold. She happened to share both her brother's fixation with heat and her mama's the-cold-never-bothered-me-ness.

“No sudden movements! I don't want it to haunt you. As your big brother, it's my job to protect you from the vengeful undead.” Olaf stopped Mary before a gigantic, muddy puddle in the middle of the garden. “There!” he said, pointing into the water. “Look how freaky that thing is. I think it's some kind of deformed ghost-mutant.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “That's your reflection, Olaf.”

“Really?” Olaf double-checked the puddle. He slowly brought a hand to his carrot nose and watched the ghost mimic him. “Huh.” His eyes narrowed as he leaned into the water. “You've outsmarted me _this time_ , puddle.” He smacked it, sending mud spurting out.

“Hey! My dress!” Mary yelped, recoiling. “You got mud on it!”

“Whoops, sorry about-”

There was a splash, and then Olaf's face was covered in filth. Mary snickered.

“I see how it is.” Olaf put on a mischievous grin. “Well then, I hope you're ready to eat my _suprise attack!_ ” He yanked a snowball out of his chest, dunked it in the puddle, and hurled it at Mary's face.

Three seconds later, the air was filled with mud and snow flying in all directions.

* * *

As it turned out, running an entire country was incredibly, painfully boring. Elsa sat huddled over the writing desk in her study, praying her hand could still move once she'd finished signing the gigantic pile of documents.

“Elsa!” Out of nowhere, a pair of red pigtails with a girl attached to them manifested in the room. “Am I crazy?”

“We've already booked a room at the asylum,” Elsa said without skipping a beat.

“Is it wrong that I kind of wish a monster would pop out and try to kill us just so we could go on another awesome adventure?”

“Well, I wouldn't call fighting for our lives and having the kingdom nearly freeze to death 'awesome,'” said Elsa.

“What, are you kidding? That stuff should be in a history book. _I_ should be in a history book.”

Elsa smirked. “And maybe there could be a footnote at the bottom about how your sister had magic or something?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, I'm going to be a few more hours,” said Elsa, gesturing to the cinder block of paper on her desk. “If you're bored, why don't you find Kristoff?”

Anna made a sour face. “Ice harvesting season's back.”

“Well, what about Olaf and Mary?”

“Y'know, now that I think about it, I haven't seen those two around lately. Wonder where they-?”

“Hey, Elsa! Hey, Anna!” Just then, a big, brown glob with some twigs and a carrot in it waddled into the study. “You'll never guess what we've been doing!”

“Playing in the mud?” guessed Anna.

Olaf stared at her for a second. “You're good.”

“ _Olaf!_ ” Elsa sprang out of her desk, her eyebrows trembling with rage. “How many times do I have to tell you? Don't track mud into the castle!”

“Oh. Right.” Olaf bowed his head, sprinkling mud droplets on the carpet.

“And you came into my study!” snapped Elsa. “How many flights of stairs did you go up?”

Olaf turned around to examine the trail of mud descending the staircase. “In my defense, it seemed like a really good idea at the time.”

Elsa let out an indignant huff. “You know what? This is a reoccurring problem, and I'm clearly not getting through to you. I created you. That makes you my responsibility, and that means I have to discipline you.”

“But I don't want to be a disciple!” gasped Olaf.

“Once you're clean, you're spending the next few hours in the study where I can keep an eye on you.”

“But won't that be really boring?”

Elsa glared at him.

“Oh,” said Olaf.

“Hey, uh, Elsa?” Anna tapped her sister on the shoulder and pointed to something out in the hallway. Elsa turned her head, then raised her eyebrows.

Mary was standing to the side of her brother, covered from head to toe in mud. Her eyes were wide and watering. “I... I'm sorry, Mama,” she said faintly. “I didn't know you would... would...”

“Oh, no, no, I'm not mad at _you_ , honey!” Elsa gave a start and immediately tried to soothe the snowwoman, but she was too late. Mary was already weeping.

“Mary?” said a concerned Olaf. “You okay?”

“It's alright, Mary.” Unfortunately, Elsa was limited to soothing Mary with her voice, seeing as she wasn't about to hug someone covered in goop. “You're not in trouble.”

“Well, technically, she should be in a little bit of trouble,” said Anna. “I mean, not as much as Olaf, but Mary really should've known better. I thought we agreed she was, like, mentally a teenager?”

Elsa scowled at her. “ _I'll_ handle this, Anna.”

Anna shrank back, surprised. “Okay, okay, sheesh...”

Elsa turned back to Mary. “You're not in trouble, dear. Just don't do this again.” Mary nodded feebly. “Alright, now the two of you need to get cleaned up.”

She pointed to Olaf and waved a hand. There was a flash of light, and then snowflakes erupted out of Olaf's body. Any snow that'd escaped the mud bath was recycled, while the rest was replenished with fresh snow, forming an exact duplicate next to the original, muddy snowman.

“Whoa! Who turned out the lights?” Of course, as a side effect, the muddy twigs, coal, and carrot got left behind, leaving Olaf blind and armless.

“I'll have a servant fetch you clean coal,” said Elsa.

“But why does he need coal to see?” spoke up Mary, her voice still trembling from sobs. “Why don't you just give him ice-eyes like mine?”

“Because when Anna and I built him, we used coal for his eyes,” Elsa said tersely. She held out a hand. “Now it's your turn.”

But to her surprise, Mary stumbled backwards, shrieking and throwing her arms in front of her face. “Wait! Wait! Don't!”

Elsa lowered her hand. “What's wrong?”

“I don't want you to put me in a new body!” Mary's sobbing resumed.

“What? Why not?”

“I- I read something in a book,” Mary stammered. “If your ax head breaks and you replace it, and then the handle breaks and you replace it, too, is it the same ax?”

Though they lacked his coal-pupils, Olaf's eyes went wide. “ _Whoa_. Mind. Blown.”

Elsa folded her arms. “You're overthinking this, Mary. My snowmen are _magic_. Magic isn't something you can reason with. Believe me, I spent years trying to outsmart my powers or come up with some trick to control them, but in the end it all came down to my emotions. The way Grand Pabbie explained it, my snowmen come from my imagination. You're alive in my mind, and your bodies are just the way my powers manifest you. You're not really in here-” She pointed to the lifeless pile of muddy snow that had once been Olaf. “You're in here.” She pointed to her forehead.

“I don't blame you for overthinking it, though,” said Anna. “If I was made of snow, I'd have, like, a zillion questions. Are you okay with throwing your genetic material at people in snowball fights?'

Mary shut her eyes, cowering like a cornered animal. “I won't be erased again,” she said, almost to herself. “ _I won't be erased again_.”

“Alright, alright, I promise I won't put you in a new body,” Elsa reluctantly said. “But you still need to get clean. Go tell a servant to run bathwater, and make sure it's cold. I doubt your personal flurry will do much good if you dunk yourself in scalding water. Come get me when you're done and I'll make you a new dress. And have someone clean up all the mud on the floor, too.”

Marry feebly nodded her head. “Yes, Mama.” She obediently walked off.

As soon as Mary was safely out of earshot, Elsa turned to Anna, her eyes full of concern. “Did you hear that? This is terrible!”

“What is?” frowned Anna.

“Mary is smart!” said Elsa.

“So?”

“She's questioning herself! Olaf never does that! Olaf is...” She eyed the snowman, who was standing nearby and smiling obliviously. Elsa leaned into Anna's ear and whispered, “Olaf's really dumb.”

“ _No!_ ” Anna made an exaggerated gasp.

“It makes him blissfully happy with his life. Marshmallow's like that, too, which is why I never felt too bad about leaving him on the North Mountain. I was hoping Mary would be the same way, but she clearly isn't.”

“But what's the problem?” asked Anna. “Isn't Mary being smart a good thing?”

Elsa let out a heavy sigh. “Did you know she's been complaining to me about how bored she gets? Imagine how it must feel to be her, having no purpose, roaming these empty halls for years...”

“I might be able to picture that,” Anna said dryly. “Look, I don't think being a snowman is that bad. It sounds pretty awesome, actually. Mary's just a drama queen.”

“I hope you're right. I'm just...” Elsa laughed. “I'm just afraid I'll have to do actual parenting with Mary.”

Anna made an exaggerated gasp. “You have to raise an angsty teenager? The horror! The horror!”

Elsa's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. “And I'm really, really, _really_ not ready to be a parent.”

“Well, lucky for you, Mary's got an aunt to help raise her, too.”

This time Elsa's laugh was genuine. “Oh no, if _I'm_ not ready to be a parent, _you're_ not even ready to be a babysitter.”

“Hey! I'll have you know I've babysat before! Remember Gerda's nephew?”

“Oh, trust me, I remember. You did _find_ Gerda's nephew eventually, right?”

“Uh, that's beside the point.”

* * *

“Ugh. I'm bored of being bored.”

While her sister was dutifully filling out legal documents, Anna was propped upside down against the writing desk and flicking a pigtail back and forth with her finger.

“Ooh, ooh, I know what we can do!” said Olaf, who was sitting beside her, equally upside down, with a nice, clean set of carrot, coal, and twigs. “There's this cool mud puddle in the garden!”

Elsa looked up from her paperwork to scowl at him.

“Oh, right,” said Olaf.

Just then, the door swung open, and Mary entered the study. “I'm finished with my bath, Mama.”

“That's- _Agh!_ ” When Elsa's eyes landed on Mary, she nearly tumbled out of her desk.

“What is it? What's wrong?” asked Mary.

“Mary-!” Anna barely suppressed a snicker. “You're naked!”

Mary looked down at herself. Anna was quite right. “Well, my dress is muddy. Mama said to come to her for a new one.”

“Why didn't you wear a towel?”

“Why would I? I'm already dry.”

“Mary...” Elsa struggled to find the words. “You shouldn't walk around the castle nude.”

“Why not?”

Elsa settled on the wording it the way her mother had always said to her: “You're a lady, and you have to protect your modesty.”

Mary took another look at herself. “I don't exactly have anything to be modest about.”

“She's got you there, Elsa.” This time, Anna's snicker escaped its suppression.

Mary's body was undeniably womanly. Unlike her siblings' bodies, Mary's was almost perfectly humanoid, complete with curves. The “almost” part came from the fact that it was also perfectly smooth and featureless. It was odd. There were some little touches to Mary's icy body that showed Elsa's incredible eye for detail – the fingernails, the freckles, the soaking wet, snowy white hair hanging unbraided off her head – but then there were entire organs left conspicuously absent.

A tinge of red had entered Elsa's pale cheeks. “Well, I, err-”

“Olaf doesn't wear any clothes,” said Mary.

“Yeah, it's great,” said Olaf. “You guys should try it sometime. Nice and breezy.”

“No, that's not- He's isn't-” After a bit of sputtering, Elsa managed to day, “Olaf's not naked.”

“I'm _not?_ ”

Anna and Mary both gave Elsa the skeptical eyebrow.

“He wears... buttons,” Elsa said lamely.

Anna and Mary traded glances.

“When you put coal on a snowman's chest like that, it's supposed to represent a coat,” said Elsa.

As she spoke, Olaf tugged out the three pieces of coal on his tummy. “What about now?”

Elsa groaned.

“Fine, what about Marshmallow?” asked Mary.

“Well... Marshmallow is supposed to represent a marshmallow, and marshmallows don't wear clothes.” Elsa made the most forced laugh in the history of mankind. “But you, Mary, represent a lady, and ladies wear dresses.”

“But what harm is there in people seeing me without one?” asked Mary.

Elsa's face grew a shade redder. “Because there are some men who may still find you... _fetching_.”

Mary looked blank. “Fetching? I don't understand.”

“She's saying guys will still think you're hot even if you don't have-”

“ _Anna!_ ” Elsa hissed at her.

“What?”

Elsa groaned, then turned in her desk towards Mary. “Just don't go around nude, alright? Trust me.” She waved a hand, conjuring up a fresh ice-dress over Mary's body. Elsa was even thoughtful enough to make Mary a new pair of ice-high heels, too, remaining pleasantly oblivious to the indignant huff Mary made the instant they sprang onto her feet.

Mary bowed her head respectfully. “Thank you, Mama. I'm sorry for tracking mud in the castle.”

“I forgive you.”

Mary smiled, then left the study.

As soon as she was gone, Anna turned to Elsa, raising an eyebrow. “'Marshmallows don't wear clothes?'”

“What was I _supposed_ to say?”

* * *

Elsa picked at her food. She was the kind of person who'd forget to eat if she wasn't waited on hand and foot. Currently, Elsa was at the royal end of the table in the dining hall, and thus far she'd spent the majority of dinnertime staring at her plate and fiddling with her fork.

“Mama?” A certain snowwoman slinked towards the table.

“Yes, Mary?”

“I'm sorry about the mud.” Mary gave Elsa the most pitiful look.

“You don't need to apologize twice,” Elsa laughed, hugging her. “Trust me, you can't get caught up on every single mistake you make. You have to move on with your life. Understand?”

Mary nodded. “Yes, Mama.”

Elsa brought a hand to Mary's head. “Your hair's a tangled mess! Didn't you brush it out after you washed it?”

Mary's eyes met the floor. “I didn't know I was supposed to...”

“Well, it may be snow, but it still behaves like regular hair,” said Elsa. “I guess if I can make an ice-dress, I can make snow-hair.” She kissed Mary's forehead. “Go get one of the maids to brush it out for you, alright?”

Mary shrank. “The maids are scared of me.”

“They are _not_ ,” Elsa said firmly. “They're just not used to you yet.” Suddenly, something caught her eye. “ _Mary!_ ” She looked down at Mary's toes. “Where are your shoes?”

Mary's cheeks frosted over. “Lost them,” she mumbled.

“Well, be more careful.” With a wave of her hands, Elsa conjured yet another pair.

“Thank you,” Mary said mechanically.

“Hey, there, s'cuse me, make some room!” Just then, Anna seated herself at the other side of Elsa and placed something onto the table with an audible _thud_. It was a tower of cake that spiraled towards the ceiling. Anna licked her lips.

“ _Anna!_ ”

“What?” Anna said innocently.

Elsa folded her arms. “That is _far_ too much cake for one person. It would be irresponsible of me to allow you to eat it...” She grabbed a fork. “...all by yourself.”

Anna smirked. “You're a pastry-devouring beast.” She scooted the plate into the center of the table, causing the cake to wobble precariously.

Cake, for the record, was the most perfect substance in the history of mankind, second only of course to chocolate. Elsa was so busy inhaling it that she almost didn't notice the puppy dog eyes staring at her.

“Want some?” She offered Mary another fork.

“Sure.” Mary gratefully accepted the utensil.

“My cake senses are tingling!” Out of nowhere, Olaf's head dropped onto the table. The girls all gave a start and spun around to find Olaf's other two segments running towards them. Apparently, in his hurry to reach the cake, he'd knocked his head off his torso.

“Yes, Olaf, you can have some, too.” Elsa gave a slightly exasperated laugh, then replaced his head and handed him a fork, too. His puny little stick arms weren't exactly suited to holding it, though, so Elsa ended up having to feed him herself.

“Mmm.” A big smile crossed Mary's face as she swallowed. “That was delicious. What kind is this?”

“A flangendorfer,” said Anna. “It's, like, the tastiest dessert in Arendelle.”

“That sounds like a made-up word,” said Mary.

“No, it's totally a real thing.”

The rest of breakfast proceeded as normal. The girls and Olaf had a pleasant chat, and then Anna ran off to find Olaf. But before Mary could stand out of her seat, Elsa suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Could you come with me for a minute, Mary?” she said softly. “You, too, Olaf.”

The snowmen obediently followed their creator up the spiral staircase and through the bedchambers hallway, finally coming to a stop at the royal washroom. Mary's eyes fell on something resting in the far corner – It appeared to be an ornate wooden chair. It would've looked very fancy if not for the giant hole in the seat.

“You first, Olaf.” Elsa raised a hand. There was a swish of magic, and then suddenly a lump of snow erupted from Olaf's belly and shot down the hole with a _plop_. But it hadn't been just any snow – It'd been a lump of snow wrapped around an unmistakably cakey substance.

“Oh.” With a pang, Mary realized what the chair was – the least terrifying nineteenth century toilet royal money could buy. “Are you doing what I think you're doing?”

Elsa sighed as she re-filled in the gap in Olaf's tummy. “Well, snowmen don't need to eat food, so when I made you guys, I, err...” Her cheeks grew a tinge redder. “...didn't give you a digestive system.”

“That means snowmen can't poop!”

“Yes, Olaf, thank you for clarifying that.”

Mary looked down at her own tummy. Through the ice, a glob of chewed-up cake was clearly visible resting at the bottom of her stomach cavity. “But- But we're magical, aren't we? Surely you could conjure up the necessary...?” Her eyes traveled further down. “Well, you know.”

Elsa gave her a dry stare. “Look, my powers are versatile, but I have to draw the line somewhere.”

“Fair enough.”

“Anyways, I'd really rather not tamper with my snowmen more than I have to.” A wry smile crossed Elsa's lips. “I'm not interested in playing God.”

* * *

A short, fat figure in white robes glided across the isles, where a tall, thin figure in white robes stood waiting. The pews of the dim, candlelit church were packed with people in identical robes.

The fat figure bowed respectfully to the thin one. “The message has been sent to Arendelle.”

“Excellent.” The thin figure turned towards something taking up most of the wall behind him. “If we prove worthy, we'll be visited by the goddess.”

He overlooked the stained glass window proudly. Production had begun almost immediately after news of the winter reached their borders, and it had still taken until recently to finish. But it'd been worth the wait. This was by far the loveliest mural in the steeple.

An image of a pale girl with silvery hair and a glittering, sky blue dress, commanding a snowstorm.

Every last member of the church knelt in reverence, then chanted:

“ _Id agat, id agat,_

_Non possum id diutius tenere._

_Id agat, id agat,_

_Averte et ianuam claude_.”

 


	4. Anatomy Lesson

Elsa couldn't help but sigh as she conjured her ice-dress into an ice-nightgown and crawled into bed. Today's agenda had been attending mind-numbing council meetings, and tomorrow's agenda called for the same. And probably the day after that's agenda, too. Elsa tried to keep her chin up. Today really hadn't been that bad. The one good thing about spending years in isolation was that every other day looked fantastic by comparison.

“Mama?” Mary entered the bedroom. “I've been thinking. You said you'd make me ice-accessories, remember? I want a pair of glasses.”

“Glasses?” frowned Elsa. “But your eyes are magic. You'd think that'd give you twenty-twenty vision...”

Mary laughed. “My eyesight's fine – I just want to look smarter.”

Elsa laughed back. “Alright. Never made glasses before, but it should be an interesting challenge.” She held out her hand, causing a stream of glowing blue snowflakes to emerge and swirl around Mary's head. A pair of icy spectacles came to a rest on her nose. “How's that? Is your vision too distorted?”

“They're perfect.” Mary beamed at her, then turned to examine herself in the dresser mirror.

“I like them,” said Elsa. “They make your face look more distinct from Anna's and mine. I just hope you keep better track of them than your shoes.” She glances down at Mary's high heels. “Did you leave them lying around outside your personal flurry? They look half-melted.”

With an absent wave of her hand, Elsa repaired the melted shoes. Mary let out a little yelp as her feet suddenly rose a couple inches higher. “T-Thank you, Mama.” (Elsa remained pleasantly oblivious to the exasperated sigh Mary made. It'd taken forever for her heels to melt enough to be comfortable.)

“Now then, I believe I also promised to brush out your hair.” Elsa seated Mary in the dresser chair before the mirror, then glanced around. “I don't see my hairbrush anywhere, so I'll have to-”

“Don't worry, Your Majesty!”

Out of nowhere, a scrawny boy in an ill-fitting servant's uniform scurried into the room.

“Fritz?” frowned Elsa. “What are you doing here?”

“Kai assigned me to be your personal manservant,” said Fritz.

Elsa pictured Fritz following her around twenty-four-seven. “ _N_ _o_ _!_ ”

“What?”

“I mean, err, it's too much work for you,” said Elsa. “You should take it slow”

“Don't worry, Your Majesty, I can handle it,” said Fritz. “I'll go get you your brush!”

“No, that's okay, I can just-” Fritz was out the room well before Elsa could say, “-make one from ice.” She shook her head. “Well, Mary, I could probably just use my magic to untangle your snow-hair, but that seems like cheating, somehow.”

The next instant, Fritz was back in the bedroom with a brush in hand. “Here you go, Your Majesty!”

“'Elsa' is fine, Fritz,” Elsa laughed as she accepted the brush.

A tinge of red entered Fritz's cheeks. “Not when I'm on duty, Your Majesty. I'm your servant now. Is there anything else I can get you?”

“No thank you,” said Elsa. “I don't need a servant right now. You're excused.”

“Of course, of course. Thank you, Your Majesty!” Fritz scampered off.

Elsa turned to Mary, raising an eyebrow. “He seems... enthusiastic.”

“He's just nervous,” said Mary.

“Really? Why's that?”

“Anyone would be if they had a visit with Fritz's mother looming on the horizon...”

* * *

A gray-haired, beady-eyed, lumpy-headed old woman sat on a musty cot in the middle of a dank, dark prison cell. Her terrifying gaze was currently fixed on the bowl of colorless sludge in her hands.

“Hey, you!” she barked at a guard standing on the other side of the bars. “This food stinks! I've eaten reindeer droppings that taste better than this dreck!”

“Maybe you should've thought about your culinary needs _before_ you decided to mouth off at the queen,” said the guard.

“I'll mouth off at whatever socerery-spewing devil-child I want, you son of a-”

“Mrs. Gudmund?” Just then, another guard approached the cell.

“Whattaya want?”

“You have a visitor.”

“Really?” Mrs. Gudmund's face lit up. “Somebody came to see me? Somebody really cares about-?”

“It's your son.”

“Oh.” Her face immediately returned to its usual sourness. “Yeah, bring him in, I guess.”

Fritz approached the cell with a cautious smile on his face. “Hi, Momma. Sorry I couldn't visit you sooner.”

“No, _no_ , it's _fine_ , Fritz,” Mrs. Gudmund said theatrically. “Why should you bother finding the time to visit your _poor, elderly_ mother who's been left _all alone_ in this miserable prison?”

“It wasn't my fault!” squeaked Fritz. “After that the prison island was evacuated, there was a big mix-up and now they've finally settled on leaving you in this local jail. I actually had to go through a big trail of paperwork just to find you-”

“Sure, Fritz-muffin, whatever you say.” Mrs. Gudmund's nose pointed to the sky. “I believe you. And I'm certainly not trying to insinuate you ought to be ashamed of yourself for being such a miserable failure of a son.”

Fritz winced and shut his eyes. “I'm not a failure, Momma. I have a job now. After you...” His eyes met the floor. “...disowned me, I got a job with the royal guards-”

Mrs. Gudmund snorted. “A guard? You?”

“It was a mix-up, kinda,” said Fritz. “I wasn't really qualified. The point is, I met the queen, and now I'm employed as one of her servants. We're really good friends.”

“You just wanna bang her, don't you?” Mrs. Gudmund deadpanned.

Fritz reddened. “N-No! I don't _just_ want- I mean, I don't want to bang her!”

Mrs. Gudmund fixed her blood-curdling glare on him. “You'd better not be fooling around with any sinful women. Utter failure that you are, I draw the line at letting you turn into your father.”

Fritz pulled back from the bars. “Uh, no, I... I'm not fooling around with anyone. I-”

“He has a girlfriend.”

Mrs. Gudmud stumbled backwards, pointing and shrieking at the woman of ice who'd approached the cell. “What the-? _What is that thing?_ ”

Mary tensed. “'That thing' is a snowwoman brought to life by the queen's magic,” she said tightly.

Mrs. Gudmund's breathing slowed. “Oh, I see. I'd heard that sorceress harlot could make snow-monsters, but I didn't know she could make them look like little tramps.”

Mary's face turned bright blue. “And I'd heard Fritz's mother was an insufferable hag, but I didn't know she'd look like a moldy prune that's been left in the sun too long.”

“I think it's time to go!” Fritz hurriedly grabbed Mary's arm. “We really need to get back to the castle. Nice seeing you, Momma!”

As he and Mary scurried down the cell, Mrs. Gudmund's scratchy, aged voice grew fainter and fainter behind them. “Ha! Just when I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic, Fritz! You couldn't even get a _real_ woman to fool around with, so our she-devil witch queen had to conjure up that freak for you! No son of mine's dating some- some _snow-person!_ ”

By the time they reached the prison entrance, Mary was almost spasming with rage.

At the front door, Fritz asked a guard, “Are you sure she can't be moved to a home? I mean, she's always been like this, but it's gotten so much worse lately... I think she's kinda losing it with age, you know?”

“You'll have to take it up with the queen,” said the guard. “But for what it's worth, I'm rootin' for Mrs. Gudmund to leave, too. She's punched out no less than twelve guards so far. No offense, kid, but your mom's a real-”

“-piece of work, I know.”

The guard smirked. “That's not what I was gonna say, but yeah.”

* * *

“Why do you put up with that harpy?”

By sunset, Fritz and Mary were back in Arendelle's capital, making their way towards the ice-covered castle looming over the buildings.

“You were the one who encouraged me to visit her,” said Fritz.

“That was before I knew she really was as bad as you and Elsa said.” Mary threw her arms in the air. “How do people get to bethat horrible?”

Fritz let out a heavy sigh. “My dad promised he loved her, then abandoned her. It messed her up.”

Mary seemed to lose her thunder. “I see,” she said quietly.

“But she's still my momma,” said Fritz.

“Well, it's clear she doesn't love you at all,” said Mary. “You don't owe her anything.”

“You're right. Guess that's the last time I visit her...”

Mary took Fritz's hands in her own. “You were abandoned too, Fritz. We both were. But it's never happening again. We have a _real_ family now.”

A smile crept onto Fritz's face. “I love you.”

Mary responded in kind. “I love you, too.” She leaned in for a kiss.

Fritz and Mary held their kiss for a long while. It was just as they were getting to the good part that... something _happened_. A sound hit Mary's ears – a sound she could only describe as ethereal. It was peaceful and rhtymic and beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time, and it made her want to move her body.

It was impossible to explain aloud. The most she could manage to say was, “W-What is that?”

“Looks like someone's playing the violin.” Fritz pointed to a man standing on a street across from them. He was unshaven, dressed in ratty clothing, and the greatest violin-player in all of Arendelle. The instrument case lay open at his feet, filled with coins.

Mary's mouth was hanging open from smiling so hard. “That's... That's music?”

“Wait.” Fritz's mouth hung open for a different reason. “You've never heard music before?”

“I know what it is, but I've never heard it in person,” said Mary, “It's incredible.” She wrapped her arms around Fritz. “Honey, can I have some coins?”

Fritz fumbled though his pockets for some change, and then Mary waltzed up to the street performer. “That's beautiful music.” She tossed the coins into his case.

“Ah, that's what I like to-” The man glanced up, then turned deathly pale. “ _S_ _weet mother of_ _B_ _ach!_ _W_ _hat_ _ARE_ _you?_ ”

“What? Oh, I'm one of the queen's-”

“ _S_ _tay away from me, you freak!_ ” The man ran off screaming through the streets.

“Wow,” said Fritz as he neared Mary's side. “What an-” He was interrupted by the man suddenly returning. He silently picked up his violin case full of money, staring at Mary the entire time, then ran off screaming again.

Frost had piled up on Mary's cheeks. “Oh- Oh yeah?” she screamed after him. “Well, I didn't even like your music anyways!”

Fritz watched the man shrink in the distance. “Hey, Mary? You okay?”

Mary brought a hand to her eyes. “Let's go home.”

Fritz nodded. “Yeah. Hopefully that jerk will be the last snowman-racist we-”

“Hey, you!”

Fritz and Mary turned around to see a large, bald, musclebound man walking towards them from a nearby pub, though it was maybe less “walking” and more “wobbling.” Despite the cool April weather, he was going sleeveless, probably to show off the vast collection of tattoos on his bulging arms.

Mary's nostrils flared. Snowmen happened to have a highly acute sense of smell – even the ones whose noses happened to be carrots.This man absolutely reeked of alcohol.

Mary found herselfhiding behind Fritz. Going out in public usually drew a crowd, but most people weren't bold enough to approach her on the street like this.

“You one of the queen's snow-monsters?” the man spat.

Mary squeezed Fritz's arm. “I'm Queen Elsa's creation. Her child.”

The man snorted. “And you think you can just walk around the village like a normal person?”

“I think I can mind by own business,” said Mary.

“Know how I got this?” The man pointed to a jagged, white scar running from his forehead down his cheek. “It was during the queen's eternal winter. When the princess went missing looking for her sister, I was one of the volunteers to search for her up on the North Mountain. When we go to the peak... one of the queen's snow-monsters ambushed us. Came out of nowhere.”

“Then take your problem up with Marshmallow!” snapped Mary. “I hadn't even been created yet back then.”

The man took a step forward. “You're all the same. Just because you _look_ more human than that creature doesn't mean you _are_.”

Mary held out her arms, scowling. “Fine, go ahead and hit me. I can't feel pain.”

The man swiped at Mary's head. She stood her ground, but her glasses tumbled off and landed on the cobblestone. The man proceeded to stomp them under his boot. Mary cried out in shock, then caught herself and made an effort not to let her eyes water.

“Oh, come on!” yelled Fritz. “That's just petty!”

“Aren't you chivalrous?” The man's eyes fell on Fritz and Mary's hands, which were intertwined. “Looks like the rumors are true. The queen really shapes these things like girls to give freaks like you something to play with.”

Fritz went red. “What? No, that's not-”

“Guess that's not too surprising seeing as she lets her own sister date a rock troll.”

“Um, I don't think that's-”

“Shut up.” The man turned to Mary. “Hey, does your boyfriend not feel pain, too?”

Mary's snowy eyebrows quivered. “Leave him out of-”

_Crack._

Fritz went skidding across the pavement like a rag doll. For a moment, Mary simply watched in silence. Then she turned to the man. Mary's bloodcurdling glare could've given Mrs. Gudmund's a run for its money.

“I will break every bone in your body.” It was a statement of fact.

“Oh yeah?” The man gave Mary a shove. “And how are you gonna do that, girl?”

“Girl?” Mary laughed, surprising herself with the chill in her voice. “I thought you said I was a _monster_.”

On the last word, Mary's hands warped and twisted into a pair of icicles, the tips pointed outwards. Then, her entire body seized up and stretched itself, flattening and losing detail until the face smoothed over and the hair and dress sunk into the ice, leaving Mary as a tall, slender, faceless snow-creature with limbs just a bit too long.

The man shrieked and made a run for it, but Mary was upon him in an instant, moving with superhuman speed. She jabbed an icicle-arm across her prey's face, leaving him with a second, identical scratch opposite the first one.

“I've read up on human anatomy, you know.” Mary's voice was barely audible over the man's screams. “This one's your femur-” _Crack_. “I think the fibula's right _here_.” _Crack._ “Ooh, look, your tibia.” _Crack_.

“ _Mary!_ ”

Mary halted and swung her featureless head towards Fritz. Fritz had backed himself against the wall of a building. He seemed to be alternating between gasping for air and sobbing, “Stop it! _Stop it!_ ”

Mary looked back at the man sprawled across the ground before her. She leaned into his face and said, “Tell Fritz you're sorry.” One of her icicles morphed back into a regular hand so she could grab him and prop him towards Fritz.

“ _I'm sorry, oh God, I'm sorry!_ ”

Satisfied, Mary tossed the man into the street, where he tumbled for a bit before lying still. Mary ignored his cries of pain and dashed over to Fritz's side.

“Are you alright-?”

“ _Stay back! Stay back!_ ”

Mary was shocked. The instant she'd moved close, Fritz had backed away, shrieking at the top of his lungs. “Fritz, it's – it's me! I saved you!” Mary glanced about. All around them, villagers was fleeing in terror. “I saved you...”

“What did you do to yourself?” Fritz managed to ask through chattering teeth.

“I- I think it's my 'battle mode,'” said Mary. “Like how Marshmallow has those icicle-spikes.”

“I, uh, don't suppose you could change back?”

“Hmm...” Mary struggled for a moment. Her other icicle arm morphed back into a proper hand, but other than that, her body failed to change. “I don't think so. My other form was too detailed and lifelike. Looks like we'll need to get Elsa. Come on, let's head back to the castle.”

“B-But Mary...” Fritz gestured to the passerby. Many of them had stopped fleeing and were instead gaping at Mary from a safe distance. “You kinda made a scene.”

“I'm sorry, Fritzy. I got carried away when that man hurt you.” Mary wrapped her arms around Fritz, but oddly, he didn't seem to blush the way he usually did. “I'm sure Elsa can get this sorted out, but right now we need to get to the castle. You need a doctor.”

“We should probably be more worried that you broke that guy's leg...”

“Do you have a concussion?” asked Mary. “I read a book about concussions. Do you have any dizziness or nausea?”

“I think I'm okay.”

“Alright then, honey. Here, let me kiss it better.” Mary put on her sugary voice, but somehow, it didn't have quite the same effect. Mary leaned in, then caught herself. “Oh, wait, silly me, I don't have a mouth.” After a minute of straining, Mary's jaw wrenched open. “There we go.”

Several seconds later, she withdrew her lips from Fritz's. “What's wrong, dear? You're not using your tongue like you usually do.”

“Uh, let's save the kissing for once you've turned back, okay?”

Mary frowned at him. “You don't want to kiss? Am I not fetching enough?”

“You're, uh... not as fetching as you could be, no.”

Mary made an indignant gasp. “Are you saying you only wanted to kiss me because you liked the way I _looked?_ ”

“No, no, baby, I love you! Really!”

After that, Fritz made out without protest.

* * *

Elsa was the most precious thing in the world to Mary. Her creator. The person Mary was literally designed to love unconditionally. Elsa's slightest praise left Mary reeling with delight. Elsa was gorgeous and kind and perfect.

And, when she wanted to be, Elsa was downright horrifying.

“I've spent nearly my whole life terrified that one day a magic-hating mob would show up on the castle doorstep to kill me.”

It would've been easier, somehow, if Elsa was screaming, but instead she simply sat her throne, her posture and face perfectly rigid. Her voice was slow, calm, and calculated.

Mary was sitting before the throne on her hands and knees. Elsa had yet to return her from a featureless snow-creature into a beautiful ice-girl. “Mama, I-”

“ _Don't talk_.” Elsa's gaze made Mary's insides cold, and Mary couldn't _get_ cold. “Now, miraculously, even after everything that's happened, after everything I've done, the people of Arendelle _don't_ all hate me – many of them actually respect me – and then you come along and _break a man's leg_ in front of the entire village.”

“He punched Fritz!” Mary pointed to her boyfriend standing across from her.

“So call the town guard over to charge him with assault!” snapped Elsa. “It's their job to subdue criminals, not yours.”

Mary bowed her head. The way Elsa put it, doing the calm, rational thing sounded so easy.

Elsa took a breath, her hands gripping the armrests of her throne. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Despite her current lack of eyes, tears trickled down Mary's face. “I'm sorry, Mama. I'm so sorry...”

Elsa nodded slowly. “I accept your apology.”

“And I'm sorry, too,” said Fritz.

Elsa gave him a sad smile. “You have nothing to apologize for, Fritz. I'm just sorry you were hurt.”

Fritz winced and clutched his ribs. “I'll live.”

Mary scrutinized Fritz carefully, then froze. She couldn't believe it. He'd just given Elsa the look. The look where he turned bright red, glanced at Elsa out of the corner of his eye, then darted away and pretended he hadn't been ogling her. That was Fritz's look for Mary! The look he hadn't given Mary at all ever since she'd gotten trapped looking like this... this _thing_. Mary glanced down at herself. Her icy body was scraggly and shapeless, like something a child might mold from clay.

“Now, then-” Elsa turned back to Mary. “-there's the matter of your punishment.”

“ _Punishment_ _?_ ” The jaw in Mary's blank face re-formed just so it could drop. “That's not fair!”

“You're right,” said Elsa tightly. “What would be fair is for you to get sent to court over this and face the possibility of jail. Luckily for you, I love you too much to allow that, and making sure the public accepts my snowmen is extremely important to me, so instead, I'm going to track down the man you hurt, pay for his hospitalization, and bribe him into not pressing charges.”

“But doesn't this man deserve to be punished, too?” said Mary. “He came out of nowhere and provoked me!”

Elsa raised an eyebrow. “You don't think having his leg snapped is punishment enough?”

Mary faltered. “Well...”

“Now, seeing as reading books is what you enjoy the most, it seems to me the best punishment would be to deprive you of that for a week.”

“A... A whole week?” Mary repeated to herself. She tried to rise to her feet, too, but she was feeling a little weak at the knees. “I don't think I've ever gone that long without reading a book before...”

It was at this that the sobbing began. “Mama... I- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...”

“I know, Mary. I know. It's going to be okay...”

After that, Elsa used her magic to sculpt Mary back into her lifelike, female body, complete with a new ice-dress, glasses, and another pair of high heels. This time, Mary wore the heels without protest. Elsa led Mary into her bedroom, where Elsa tucked her under the covers and kissed her cheek before turning to leave.

But just before she headed out the door, Elsa paused, then turned back and said, “Mary, listen... I know how it feels to be persecuted, and when you're so much more powerful than they are, I know how tempting it is to... to hurt your persecutors. But you _can't_ give in to it.” She shut her eyes. “If you bring yourself to that level, people will never accept you.”

* * *

In the center of a large, dim, candlelit room, a man in ragged black robes stood hunched over a cauldron, stirring its contents with a large stick. All was silent in the chamber, save for the sloshing of liquid and the crackling of fire beneath the pot. Then, from behind him, there came the sound of footsteps.

“How comes the offering?” asked the tall, thin man in white robes.

“The ritual is almost complete, my lord. Soon the brew will be ready for our purposes.” The hunchbacked man let out a raspy cackle.

“Ready for our purposes?” The tall man folded his arms behind his back. “The brew must be more than 'ready for our purposes.' It must achieve perfection. The cosmic importance of this ritual cannot be overstated. This brew holds the fate of our entire kingdom- nay, our entire universe. The very balance of reality itself rides on the offering being accepted. Do you realize the consequences it would bring to humanity if the Snow Goddess is anything less than totally pleased with it?”

The man in black robes shrank back, shuddering. “O-Of course, my lord. I won't fail you.”

“I'll be the judge of that.” The man in white stepped forward, bringing a hand into the folds of his robes. “And I suspect you haven't gotten the ingredients quite right.”

The man in black gulped. “You- You think so?”

The man in white retrieved a long, jagged dagger. The man in black's eyes seemed drawn towards the tip.

“Allow me to help you...” The man in white stepped forward, holding the dagger high, then, in one quick gesture, brought it down... into the cauldron. The dagger emerged covered in a thick, dark liquid. The man in white raised it to his own mouth, then slowly licked the flat of the blade.

“M-My lord?” squeaked the man in black, wiping sweat from his brow.

There was a long silence.

“Needs more cocoa butter.”

 


	5. Do You Want to Screw a Snowman?

The door to Anna's bedroom swung open, and out came a pair of pigtails attached to a princess. “ _H_ _ey, everyone!_ ”

The head of every last maid, servant, and guard spun towards her.

“ _I_ _'m changing clothes in here!_ _N_ _obody come in!_ _I_ _, uh,_ _I_ _might be a while!_ _D_ _on't disturb me, okay?_ ”

The door shut.

On the other side of it, Kristoff gave Anna a look. “Your nonchalance might need a little work.”

“No, my nonchalant just looks chalant.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Come on already.” Anna took his hand and tugged him towards the bed.

Kristoff tugged away. “You sure you wanna do this? I mean, the last time Elsa caught us, I thought she was gonna turn me into a popsicle.”

“First off-” Without warning, Anna went for the top button of Kristoff's shirt. “-Elsa's a worrywart. We're not gonna do anything, y'know, _bad_ until we marry – which I'd love to do as soon as we're sure it won't make Elsa's head explode, by the way – and you wash well, so you don't have any weird diseases, right?”

“Well, not any _weird_ diseases...”

“The point is, what Elsa doesn't know won't hurt her. Second off-” _Pop_ went Kristoff's second button. “-holy moly, those abs.” Anna wolf whistled, then went for the third button. “Third off-” _Pop._ “Third off... What was I talking about again?”

“You sure you don't just like me for my looks?” smirked Kristoff.

“Not _just_ for your looks, no,” Anna smirked back.

The mattress groaned at all the weight it suddenly had to support.

“Y'know, Anna, it wouldn't hurt to go out and do something romantic every once in a while. I just want there to be more to _us_ than the, uh, physical parts.”

“We _will_ go out and do something romantic. Right after we're done here.”

“Well, I guess now we know who wears the feisty pants...”

“Come on, you've been gone forever! I've missed you. And you can't tell me you weren't lonely, too. You've been harvesting ice all by yourself.”

“I wasn't by myself. I had Sven.”

“True. But can Sven do _this_?”

The mattress started creaking.

“You're right, he can't. Not flexible enough.”

“Eww, stop, you're ruining the mood.”

“Sorry.”

“Hey, Kristoff? Not to be weird, but... am I doing this right?”

The creaking halted.

“Uh... yeah, you're doing great.”

“You hesitated,” said Mary.

“ _Agh! What the_ _-?_ ”

There was a whirlwind of bedsheets and a noise like a startled cat yanking itself off an octopus, and the next instant, Anna and Kristoff were fully covered and facing the doorway. Mary was standing before the opened door, her face a perfect blank.

“How long have you been there?” demanded Anna.

“A couple minutes,” said Mary. “What are you doing?”

Kristoff strangled Anna with his eyes. “You didn't lock the door?”

“I didn't think I needed to because I assumed people would heed my warning!” Anna said through gritted teeth.

Kristoff moaned and turned to the doorway. “What are you doing in here, Mary?”

“Well, I was walking by, and the door was open a crack.”

Kristoff buried his face in his palm.

“It's a force of habit, okay?” said Anna. “I think I've got a pathological thing against closed doors.”

“Why is your blouse open?” asked Mary. “And where's Kristoff's shirt?”

“Uhhhhhh...” You could see the gears turning in Anna's head. “You just missed it, but a second ago, there was this huge cloud of ravenous moths-”

“We were about to have sex,” said Kristoff.

“ _Kristoff!_ ” Anna spun towards him, eyes bulging. “ _Ixnay on the exsay!_ ”

“Sorry, I thought we might want to spare ourselves some headache and come clean for once.”

“Alright, alright...” Anna sighed and returned her attention to Mary. “Look, Kristoff and I weren't going to do anything _bad-_ ”

“Maybe _a little_ bad,” muttered Kristoff.

“-but Elsa doesn't really sympathize. If she finds out about, like, _any_ of this, she'll be burying Kristoff-flavored ice cubes under the floorboards, you follow me?”

Mary shook her head. “I don't understand.”

“I'm saying she'll kill him. Not literally, I hope.”

“No, I mean don't understand what it is.”

“What what is?”

“Sex,” said Mary. “What is that?”

Kristoff rolled over under the covers and let out a self-pitying groan.

“Wait.” Anna blinked. “You mean you don't know?”

“Maybe Elsa's snowmen just aren't programmed to know this stuff,” said Kristoff. “Olaf didn't know either that time he caught us-”

“ _We don't talk about that!_ ” hissed Anna. Then she turned back to Mary and said, “Look, Mary, sex is this, uh... _thing_ that people do when they, y'know, like each other and want to feel good.”

“And Elsa doesn't want you to have it with Kristoff?” frowned Mary.

Kristoff snickered. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Anna shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “No. No, I'm an adult, so Elsa's not the boss of me. It's just, err, frowned upon to sleep with someone you're not married to.”

“Why?” asked Mary.

“Oh, um-” Anna was disarmed. “I dunno, I guess because...” She turned to Kristoff.

“Hey, don't look at me!” said Kristoff, throwing his hands in the air. “I was raised by trolls. They've got a whole different-”

“The point is, Elsa's gonna be mad at us, so you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?”

“Alright, I promise.” Mary's eyes wandered, prompting Anna to turn a shade redder and button her blouse. “What happened to your clothes?”

“Well, err...” Anna bowed her head. “Part of the whole, uh, process involves... taking them off.”

Mary brought a hand to her mouth. “ _On purpose?_ But you're a lady! You have to protect your modesty!”

“Yeah, that's, uh, that's the idea.” Anna made eyes at Kristoff and gave him a somewhat strained smile. “I wouldn't do this with just anyone, Mary – despite what some rumors say. That's what makes my relationship with Kristoff so special.”

“Oh! _Oh!_ ” You could see the spark of realization flash through Mary's icy eyes. “Kristoff finds your naked body fetching!”

“Not the word I would use, but yeah,” said Kristoff.

“And that's why Elsa didn't want me running around naked!” said Mary. “Because I'm fetching, too! But Olaf is allowed to because, well, who would find _him_ fetching?”

“You'd be surprised...” Kristoff earned himself a look from Anna. “I'm kidding!”

“And this makes your relationship special?” Mary gazed at the two of them with pure, innocent fascination. “How?”

“Well, uh...” Anna sat up under the blankets. “I guess because it's how babies are made.”

From Mary's face, Anna might as well have said it's how unicycles are made. “What? What do babies have to do with any of this? I thought they came from their mother's womb.”

Anna's eyes met the ceiling. “They do. It's just a, uh... It's a whole thing. Don't worry about it. Kristoff and I aren't gonna make a baby. Not until we're married, anyways. I mean, Elsa's not about to churn out an heir herself, so someone has to.”

“So that's what marriage is for?” asked Mary. “It makes it okay for people to have sex so they can raise children?”

“Gee, when you put it that way, it sounds so unappealing,” said Kristoff.

“That's one part of marriage,” said Anna. “It's complicated, okay, Mary? Now if that's all, we were kind of in the middle of something before you came in, so...”

“Oh, you wanted to keep...” Mary backed away from the bed, her cheeks filling with frost. “You want me to leave?”

“Sex is private,” said Anna. “Super private. You should go. And don't tell anyone about any of this! Especially Elsa. Trust me.”

“Alright, if... if that's what you...” Mary hung her head and made for the door. Just before leaving, she turned back around, took one last lingering look over the two of them, and said, “Anna, can... can we talk more about this later?”

“I've probably already said too much.” Anna gave an apologetic wince. “Just don't worry about it, okay?”

“Okay...” And with that, Mary slunk out the door.

The instant she was gone, Anna rolled over to glare at Kristoff. “What do you mean, trolls have a whole different-?”

* * *

Mary returned to her bedroom in a daze. There was this entire fun thing people could do that they'd kept secret from Mary? Why hadn't Mary known about it before? She seemed to know most other basic information automatically. The only explanation was that Elsa hadn't known about sex when she'd first made Mary – which made sense. Elsa had only been eight, after all.

Mary locked the door behind her and ran to examine herself in the mirror, stripping off her dress. Mary had known she was missing some body parts, but she hadn't realized those parts were useful for anything! Her body was smooth and barren like a doll's. How bizarre must that look to outsiders?

Suddenly, Fritz's face flashed through Mary's mind. The pieces clicked into place. Of course. That's why he'd acted so differently towards her when Mary turned into attack form. That's why Fritz still acted antsy around Elsa even though he was dating Mary now.

Why hadn't Elsa told Mary about this? Mary was dating someone, wasn't she? Was she waiting to say anything until Mary and Fritz were married? They... They _were_ going to get married, right?

That was another thing Mary had never thought of before. She'd been so anxious to have someone to kiss her and love her the way Elsa's mama and papa had that Mary hadn't thought about what she would do with that someone once she had them. She and Fritz mostly just kissed and hung out together, but was there supposed to be more to a relationship than that? Were they expected to marry one day? To have a baby? Was that even possible?

Mary brought a hand to her stomach. In her reflection, she could see straight through her torso to the wall behind her. There was no womb in there, just ice. It didn't _seem_ possible, but... Mary _was_ brought to life by magic, wasn't she? Magic could do anything, couldn't it?

At any rate, Mary was more than a little foggy on the exact mechanics of this “sex” thing. It didn't sound like Anna was anxious to explain any more about it, and if Mary went to Elsa, that might give away that she'd caught Anna and Kristoff in the act. Would Mary have to figure this out all by herself? How was she expected to do that? It wasn't like there was an instruction man-

Mary froze. Then she dashed for her bookshelf, grabbed the anatomy book, plopped down on her bed with it, and flipped it open to the table of contents. Of course, Mary knew she wasn't supposed to be reading for the rest of the week, but... Well, her curiousity had gotten the better of her. Her finger skimmed the page, coming to a rest on the words, “ _The Reproductive System_.”

Mary smiled to herself, then pushed her glasses up her nose and set to work.

* * *

After the ten thousandth legal document, signing your name became second nature. Elsa had mastered the art down to the slightest detail, from dipping the pen in the inkwell to scrawling her perfect signature in one swift, pleasing motion. Her hand moved at rapid speed, no longer so much as stopping to consult her brain. At this point, it was physically impossible for Elsa to err. The action had been so deeply ingrained into her that-

“Your Majesty!” A squeaky voice sent Elsa's hand jerking in surprise, smudging out her last name so that her signature read “Queen Elsa ~~~~~~~ of Arendelle.” Elsa sighed and turned to the doorway to find a scrawny, lumpy-headed servant boy standing in the study.

“It's past your bedtime!” Fritz said this the way one might say, “Your hair is on fire!” or “You're coughing up blood!”

“It is? Wow, the hours really slipped away from me.” Elsa gave him a patient smile and rose to her feet. It took the fingers of her writing hand a second before they'd agree to release the pen.

“Is your hand okay?” asked Fritz. “Do you need me to get you some ice?”

Elsa gave him a long, hard stare.

“Oh,” said Fritz.

* * *

It was only after Elsa slept soundly for several hours that Fritz allowed himself to turn in for the night. Waiting on Elsa hand and foot took a lot out of him, but Fritz didn't mind. Finally, after failing at reindeer herding, higher education, trading post-slash-sauna maintenance, and bodyguarding, Fritz had found something he wasn't a complete and utter failure at. Sure, it was hard work, but honestly, Fritz would rather work his butt off than lounge around the castle leeching off the royal family's hospitality.

Fritz still couldn't believe Elsa had taken him in. She was too nice. Incredibly nice. And beautiful. And elegant and honest and perfect and sexy – uh, in a completely platonic way, of course. Fritz had a loving girlfriend who he was totally committed to.

 _Crack._ Just the thought of Mary sent the sound of snapping bone through Fritz's ears. Yeah. Totally committed.

Fritz arrived at his bedroom and reached for the doorknob. He was being paranoid again, he told himself. Mary had only attacked that guy to protect Fritz. It wasn't like she was some sort of crazed murderer or anything.

“Hello, Fritz.”

“ _G_ _ah_ _!_ ”

Mary had apparently decided not the make her presence known until _after_ Fritz had locked the door behind himself. He spun around to find Mary sitting under the covers of his bed, smiling from cheek to cheek. Normally, a glasses-wearing snowwoman would've been adorable, but every time he looked at her, Fritz had to fight down the memory of a thin, featureless snow-monster sticking its tongue in his mouth.

“Surprised?” laughed Mary.

“I just, uh, wasn't expecting you back so soon.” Fritz's mind raced for a way to undo the lock and bolt out the door without looking like he was scared of her. Fritz was pretty sure Mary would buy it if he said he was late for a staff meeting, but he wasn't sure how he would explain the part where he ran screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Come into bed, dear,” Mary said silkily. “I've got another surprise for you.” She sat up, then tossed off the blanket.

“Agh!” Fritz nearly fainted on the spot. Beneath the blanket, Mary had on nothing. No dress, no undergarments, _nothing_. For a solid minute, Fritz stared, slack-jawed. If you listened carefully, you could hear the wiring in his brain hissing.

“I want to have sex with you,” Mary helpfully clarified.

Fritz's eyes impulsively double-checked Mary's body to make sure they hadn't somehow missed the genitals the first time around. Nope, nope, she was definitely smooth and flat. Even her torso was featureless. Well, it had a feminine shape, but overall it didn't look much different from if Mary was wearing a skintight shirt.

A couple questions fought to escape Fritz's mouth, with “Why?” and “How?” coming in close second behind “ _What?_ ”

“I know what you're going to say,” said Mary, her cheeks filling with frost. “I don't have the same... _parts_ as a human. How is it going to work? Well, I was wondering that, too, and then I remembered snowmen like heat. All we have to do is light a fire and then-”

Word to the wise: Any sex that starts with the phrase “All we have to do is light a fire” won't be good sex.

* * *

Elsa was awoken by the sound of birds chirping. She yawned, stretched, and pulled herself out of the covers. She'd already brushed her teeth and conjured her ice-nightgown into an ice-dress before it hit her. Birds chirping? She could actually hear the birds chirping this morning? Usually, it was drowned out by an incessant stream of “Good morning, Your Majesty, I fixed you your breakfast, Your Majesty, can I get you anything, Your Majesty?”

Elsa searched the bedroom, the washroom, and the bedchambers hallway, but Fritz was nowhere to be found. Despite the peace and quiet this bought her, Elsa frowned. Who was going to fix her breakfast? Who was going to straighten her bed covers? Who was going to brush out her hair and apply her makeup? Of course, Elsa was perfectly capable of doing all that herself, but there'd been something oddly appealing about a servant waiting on her so enthusiastically. Elsa had always found Fritz's blatant crush annoying, but she had to admit, having someone so delighted by her very existence did wonders for her self-esteem.

“Fritz?” Elsa opened his bedroom door a crack and peeped inside, but the bed was unoccupied. She was about to give up and go search somewhere else when she caught a faint whimpering sound. Elsa crept inside and tracked the noise to behind Fritz's closet door. She opened it to find a scrawny boy hunched into a ball, hiding under a pile of spare uniforms and trembling.

“ _Fritz?_ ” Elsa was at his side immediately, a comforting arm around his shoulders. “What's wrong? What happened?”

“ _Shh!_ ” Fritz immediately hissed. “You can't let Mary know I'm here!”

“What?” Now Elsa was less worried and more confused. “Why are you hiding from Mary?”

“Because I have a sense of self-preservation, that's why!” Fritz snapped, a frantic gleam overtaking his eyes. “Mary's crazy! _Crazy, I tell you!_ ”

“Is this because she broke that man's leg?” asked Elsa.

Fritz faltered. “Well, uh, that's a contributing factor, but...”

“Fritz.” Elsa knelt down to meet his eyes. “Tell me what happened.”

Fritz broke from her gaze, tripped over his words for a bit, then finally uttered one cryptic word: “Sex.”

Elsa's mouth fell open. “Oh my God, did you try to do something with her?”

Fritz went red. “What? No!”

“Good, good. I didn't think you had it in you, anyways...”

“ _She_ tried to do something with _me_ _!_ ”

If Elsa had a drink in her mouth, she'd have spit it out. “She _what?_ But she doesn't have-”

“She wanted to try, y'know...” Fritz grew a shade redder. “...alternative stuff.”

Elsa grew a bit red herself. “I see. And did it... work?”

“Her entire body is made of freezing cold ice!” snapped Fritz. “You do the math!”

“And she did it against your will? Were you hurt?”

Fritz shook his head. “She didn't actually do anything. I freaked out right away and she stopped.”

“And then you hid in the closet all night?”

“Not _all_ night,” said Fritz stiffly. “I... snuck out to use the bathroom once.”

“What could've gotten into her?” Elsa brought a hand to her forehead. “I need to go find Mary. How did she take it when you rejected her advances?”

“About as well as you'd expect.”

* * *

It looked like a tornado had come through Mary's bedroom. The floor was littered with shredded pages from an utterly decimated human anatomy book, which was lying at the far end of the carpet next to a shattered pair of ice-glasses. Sitting in bed was Mary herself, her eyes blue and puffy. Her ice-dress seemed to have been thrown back on in a fury – it was covered in wrinkles and one of the sleeves was torn.

Elsa was overcome with the simultaneous urges to reprimand, console, and roll her eyes at Mary. “Mary.” She walked through the doorway, putting on her “queenly” voice. “Fritz told me you tried to do something inappropriate to him.”

Mary turned away, hiding her face.

“How do you know what sex is?” Elsa's eyes returned to the tattered book on the ground. “Oh, of course. You read about and then tried to emulate it, didn't you? If I'd known we had those kind of books in the library, I wouldn't have-”

“ _What's that supposed to mean?_ ” Elsa nearly flinched when Mary spun around, screaming at the top of her nonexistent lungs. “Did you keep this from me on purpose? Are you saying you didn't _want_ me to know about sex?”

“Keep your voice down,” said Elsa. “I made you when I was eight. I didn't know about it, either.”

“I've had a boyfriend for weeks!” spat Mary. “Did you never think it might be important information to me?”

“Okay, okay!” said Elsa, throwing her hands into the air. “You're right, Mary. Clearly, not telling you was a mistake. I guess I...” She sighed. “I didn't know how to broach the subject. I'm sorry, if I'd known you'd find out on your own and try something like this, I would've told you.”

“I... I didn't...” Mary bowed her head, her face softening. “I didn't think he'd get so upset. I just wanted him to feel good. I thought...” She shut her eyes. “I thought I was _supposed_ to.”

“You're not in trouble, Mary.” Elsa laughed. “Trust me, I've caught Anna doing _much_ worse.”

Mary gave a start. “You know about that?”

The laughter abruptly stopped. “Know about what?”

“Nothing,” Mary said immediately.

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Anna groaned and rolled over under the covers. After “the Mary incident” yesterday, the mood had sort of been ruined, and Anna and Kristoff had ended up going into town for a romantic picnic instead of doing the, uh, thingthey'd been planning on doing. It'd been great. Anna had zero complaints about doing something romantic with her boyfriend. She should've been happy as a clam right now. Wait, scratch that, clams weren't a great thing for Anna to be thinking about in her current mental state.

The point was, Anna should've been happy, but, well... Okay, there was this one time a couple years back when Anna had broken her arm doing this amazing backflip off the spiral staircase, and she'd had to wear a sling for weeks. Her arm had gotten _so darn itchy_ ,and she hadn't been able to do a thing about it. That's exactly how Anna felt right now. If this kept up any longer, she was gonna go bananas. No, wait, scratch that one, too.

“Anna?”

Anna jolted awake at the sound of knocking. She sat up and checked the clock. _E_ _leven_. Ugh, what did Elsa want at this ungodly hour?

“I'm coming, I'm coming.” Anna climbed out of bed and tried not to taste her own mouth as she slinked towards the door. She opened it to find her sister staring her down.

“Mary tried to do something inappropriate to Fritz,” said Elsa, folding her arms. “You wouldn't happen to know where she learned that behavior from, would you?”

“Oh.” Anna's face fell. “I... might have had something to do with that. But it's not like I told her, 'Sex is great, have as much sex as you can!' She just caught me and Kristoff, um, you know, and she didn't know what we were doing, so I kinda gave a rushed explanation and then shooed her away.”

From Elsa's face, you'd think Anna had confessed to murder. “ _A rushed explanation?_ ”

“I was a little distracted at the time!” said Anna, throwing her hands in the air. “It shouldn't be my job to explain this stuff to her, anyways. She needs to learn it from her mom, not her floozy aunt.”

“I know, I know,” said Elsa, digging her palm into her forehead. “I should've told her when I explained about nudity. You're absolutely right – She needs to learn this properly.” She turned back to Anna. “Go get Kristoff. And Mary and Fritz and, you know what, get Olaf, too. Why not? The more the merrier. We're having a family meeting.”

“A family meeting?” frowned Anna. “About what?”

Elsa's voice held total solemness: “Sex education.”

 


	6. A Gathering of Mature Adults

Anna had traversed mountains, battled snow-monsters, and had crazy men swing swords at her, but nothing – _nothing –_ could compare to what she was about to face. Today was going to be the greatest challenge of her life.

“There is an issue that has plagued every single member of this family.”

Elsa was at the head of the gallery behind a table containing a handful of thick, ancient tomes with titles like _The Reproductive System: An Academic Analysis_ , _Sex and Royal Politics_ , and _An Enlightened Nineteenth-Century Exploration of Female Sexuality_ _(and Other Myths_ _)_.

“I brought us here today so we can discuss this like mature adults,” said Elsa. “Any concerns or questions any of us have about sex will be resolved by the time we leave this room.”

Anna wanted to bury herself in the couch cushions. She was okay with weirdness, but talking candidly about the birds and the bees with her boyfriend, her sister, and the snowman she built when she was five crossed the weirdness line even for her. Anna did a quick headcount. On one couch sat Olaf, who had on a big, goofy grin, and right beside him sat Fritz, who was blushing so hard he looked almost delirious. On an armchair at the far side of the room sat Mary, the only one listening attentively. And on the second couch, Anna and Kristoff were sitting side by side with Sven curled up at their feet. He'd been allowed inside just this once on Kristoff's insistence that a family meeting had to include _every_ family member. Every so often, Kristoff would snicker to himself and pass Sven a carrot from the gigantic bowl in his lap.

“I can't wait to learn about sex!” said Olaf. “I have no idea what it is, but it sounds awesome.”

“Does Olaf really have to be here?” groaned Anna.

“Yes.” Elsa stood stalk-straight, her voice perfectly level and controlled. “He keeps walking in on the maids' changing room, and he needs to learn why that's not okay.”

“ _Is_ that not okay?” asked Kristoff. “I mean, Olaf's not a human. Sven sees me naked all the time, and he doesn't care.”

“Okay, it's been two minutes, and I've already heard way too much information,” said Anna. “Do we have to do this in a big group, Elsa? Can't you just do it with us one at a time?”

 _Crunch_ went a carrot.

“No, I think it will be better if we all do it in front of each other,” said Elsa.

 _Crunch_.

Elsa bowed her head. “Listen, I know this is awkward and uncomfortable for everybody, but I would appreciate it if you could look past that. I'm glad all of you came.”

_Crunch._

Her head shot towards a certain boy-and-reindeer duo. “What are you doing?”

“Wha? Oh-” Kristoff swallowed noisily, then said, “Me and Sven are playing a game. Eat a carrot every time someone-”

“Well, stop it,” cut in Elsa. “I'm not in the mood.”

_Crunch._

Elsa scowled.

“Sorry,” muttered Kristoff.

“As I was saying,” Elsa said sharply, “it seems to me that most of these problems arose out of ignorance. I thought it would be beneficial for us to go in a circle and share what we know about sex and where we learned it from. Are there any questions before we start?”

Olaf raised a stick-arm into the air. “When we're done, are we all going to have sex with each other?”

There was a mixture of giggles and groans from the rest of the group, but Elsa fought to keep her composure. “No. No, we are not. Once you've learned what sex is, you'll see why that question is-”

“I already know how to have sex,” said the voice of Sven. “Can I be excused?”

Elsa's eyes narrowed and fell on Kristoff. “Bjorgman, this is not the time to be making silly voices for your reindeer.”

“Sorry, sorry...”

Elsa took a breath, then returned her attention to the group. “I'll go first. Anna's and my parents were strict about these matters. I didn't have a clue about sex until I was fourteen, when I stumbled across it by accident in my biology textbook. I went to our mother, but her explanation was vague. I'm sure our parents meant to tell me more someday, but...” Her voice trailed off. “Anyways, I've learned the finer details on my own.” She gestured to the books on the table.

“When my powers were out of control, I assumed sex was something I'd never experience. Even now, I'm worried I'd hurt my partner. My powers respond to intense emotion, and, well, it doesn't get more intense than sex, does it?” She let out a soft chuckle. “But I don't have any problems with staying chaste. Maybe I'll change my mind one day, but I don't want a partner right now.”

“Yeah, well, who needs partners when you've got ice powers? Cold never bothered you, am I right?” Anna wiggled her eyebrows.

Elsa stared at her. “I hope you're not insinuating what I think you're insinuating.”

Anna stifled a giggle. “This meeting's for talking about candid stuff, right? No need to be shy, Elsa. I mean, if _I_ had ice powers-”

“I would never use my magic to do something vulgar,” said Elsa.

“Come on, you can't seriously tell me you've never once tried to-” Anna caught sight of Elsa's face. “Oh goodness, you _are_ serious.”

Elsa gave a patient smile. “So long as we're being candid, why don't you share how you learned about sex?”

“Alright, alright...” Anna hid her eyes in her hands. “Nobody laugh, okay?”

There was a collective reassurance from the group.

“This was back when Elsa was still locked in her room all the time. One day, one of the royal guards got sick, and our parents had to hire a new one. This was a huge deal because our parents _never_ hired new staff, and this guy was gorgeous. I mean, he was-” Anna paused, then said, “-almost as handsome as Kristoff.”

“Nice save,” smirked Kristoff.

“Anyways, I kinda sorta stalked him, and there might have been a heartfelt declaration of love involved, but in the end he turned me down because he was, like, three times my age. Then he went to my parents and they, y'know, decided to go ahead and tell me about the birds and the bees.” She sighed and said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “And then I never threw myself at a stranger again.” Before anyone had time to react, Anna grabbed Kristoff's arm and said, “Your turn!”

“Are you sure I should have a turn?” Kristoff raised an eyebrow. “I was raised by the 'love experts,' remember? I learned _everything_.”

Elsa went red. “Maybe we'll skip you, if you don't mind...”

“Yeah, good call.”

“Ooh! Ooh! That makes it my turn!” Olaf bounced on his cushion eagerly. “I didn't know a thing about sex until one day Elsa came to me and said we were having a family meeting about it, and then she brought me here, and we all started talking about when we first learned about-”

“We get the idea.” Elsa turned to Fritz, who gave a start and yanked his fingernails out of his mouth. “It's your turn to share, Fritz.”

“Well, I, uh, I-” Fritz usually gave off the impression that he'd like to turn invisible on the spot, but now he was giving off the impression that he wanted his atoms scattered to the four corners of the globe. “After my dad walked out, my momma got pretty anti-sex, so I, uh, I kinda picked up on the general idea, but I never necessarily learned the exact... _mechanics_.”

Elsa immediately shot Anna and Kristoff a look that just dared them to laugh, then said, “It's perfectly alright, Fritz. That's what this meeting is for. Here, let me explain it to you.”

Every inch of Fritz's skin burned red. “You really don't have to-”

“Yes I do,” said Elsa, locking eyes with him. “This is important. You see, men and women each have their own-”

As the speech went on, there were squeaks of shock and horror from Fritz, peppered by Olaf's exclamations of “ _Really?_ ” and “Wow, the more you know!” and “Oh come on, you're making that up!”

“-and nine months later, the baby is born,” Elsa concluded. “Does that answer all your questions, Fritz?”

“I- Guh- Ah- Y-Yeah.” Fritz's vocabulary had devolved to monosyllabic. It was a good thing he'd already been sitting down.

“I still don't get it,” said Olaf. “Could we do a live demonstration so I can picture it better in my head?”

“No, that would be inappropriate.” With a flick of her wrist, Elsa conjured up some ice-shapes in the air. “If you need an illustration, imagine this is the-”

There was a simultaneous scream of “ _N_ _o_ _!_ ” from every other person in the room.

Elsa flushed and dissolved her ice. “I'm just trying to-”

“What happened to not doing anything vulgar?” asked Kristoff.

Elsa rolled her eyes. “That was a scientific illustration. And here I thought I was the prudish one.”

“Are you _sure_ we can't do a live demonstration?” frowned Olaf.

“Yes.” Elsa made an impatient huff. “I don't think you understand. Sex is intimate. It's only done in private.”

“So a live demonstration is off the table then?”

“Yes! Off the table! Now stop hammering me like this!”

 _Crunch_ went a carrot.

Slowly, as if she couldn't believe her ears, Elsa turned her death gaze towards Kristoff.

“Oh, no, that wasn't-” Kristoff hurriedly swallowed his half. “That wasn't part of the game. Sven was just hungry.”

Elsa looked about one crunch away from sending Kristoff back to the ice age, but instead she took a deep breath and turned towards Mary. “Well, you've been awfully quiet, honey. It's your turn.”

“Wait!” gasped Olaf. “We forgot Sven! How did Sven learn about sex?”

“What? Oh, uh...” Kristoff pondered this for a minute. “I guess he just knows. Instincts and all that.”

Olaf stared at the reindeer in awe.

Mary sat up in her seat, brushed a strand of snow-hair from her eyes, and pushed her glasses up her nose. “Well, I first learned about sex from...” Her eyes flickered towards Anna and Kristoff. “...my human anatomy book. Mama, I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me properly, but I...” Her eyes moved towards the floor. “I don't think it's something I could ever experience.”

“Mary.” Elsa glided across the room to give Mary a hug. “Take it from me, you can't dwell on what makes you different from other people. You'll never find happiness that way.”

It was at this moment that Olaf leaned into Sven's ear and whispered, “Tell me your secrets, sex oracle.”

Kristoff turned to Mary. “Well, are you okay with being sexless? Because I'd think Elsa could change that if you wanted. If she can give her snowmen working eyeballs, I'd say any organ's fair game.”

Mary shook her head. “My body would still be freezing cold. But... But I guess it doesn't matter.” She rose out of her armchair and made her way towards Fritz. “Fritz and I love each other no matter what.” She took his hand in hers. “I am so, _so_ sorry about last night. I had no idea what I was doing, and I made a mistake. Can you forgive me?”

“Uh, yeah, I-” Fritz shrank back, tugging his hand free. “Um, Mary, the thing is, I, uh...”

“What is it, sweetie?” frowned Mary. “You can tell me anything.”

Fritz raised an eyebrow. “Anything?”

Mary nodded. “Anything.”

“Okay, well...” Fritz took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. “You've been really scary lately, what with breaking someone's leg and, y'know, trying stuff with me, and, well, I'm just now getting my life back in order, cutting ties with my momma and having a real job, so, uh, I don't want to let myself get pushed around. I need to be assertive, and- and- and-” Fritz stood up and took a few steps back. Once he was a safe distance from Mary, he said, “I don't want to date you right now.”

The faces of Elsa's snowmen were made of ice and snow, but they were no less expressive. Elsa's magic had represented even the most minute muscle movements perfectly. If she hadn't cheated by using magic, Elsa really should've won an ice-sculptingaward for giving Mary the most accurate “my boyfriend broke up with me” face ever.

“What?” Mary said faintly.

“I liked what we had, but I'm just not comfortable anymore,” Fritz said to his own feet. “I really think we should spend some time apart, but I wish you the best, and, y'know, maybe in the future, we could give it another try, but... not now.”

“But- But-” Mary's lip started quivering.

Fritz tried and failed to smile. “I hope we can still be fr-”

“ _How dare you?_ ”

Every other person in the gallery flinched at Mary's outburst. Even Sven seemed to sense something was wrong.

“ _Liar!_ ” Mary spat. “I know what this is about! You expect me to believe that you just _happen_ to break up with me right when you learn I can't have sex?”

“What?” Fritz turned red, but this time it wasn't out of embarrassment. “I never asked you for sex! You're the one who wanted to make out with me! You're the one who crawls into my bed every night to cuddle! You're the one who showed up naked in my room and grabbed my belt!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Kristoff hopped up and ran towards them, waving his arms in a soothing gesture. “Friends-with-love-experts guy coming through. How about we all calm down before we-”

“You never loved me!” yelled Mary. “You just want to sleep with Elsa, but since she won't have you, you went to me instead!”

“-say things we'll regret?”

“But- But you- That's- That's so unfair!” Even at his angriest, Fritz was still an anxious, stuttering mess.

“Wait a minute,” said Olaf. “Can three people date each other at the same time? Because if so, I think I have a way to solve this-”

“Don't you dare deny it, Fritz!” spat Mary. “If I was a gorgeous human woman like Elsa, would you be complaining about me 'trying stuff' you? _Would you?_ ”

“ _Mary._ ”

One voice rose above the others. It wasn't the loudest voice, but it was punctuated by the howling winter winds. A blast of cold air hit Mary's face, sending her head spinning towards a certain unhappy-looking Snow Queen.

“I think it would be best if you went to your room until you've composed yourself,” said Elsa.

Mary scowled. “I'm fine where I am.”

“I'm sorry, I was just trying to be polite.” Elsa pointed to the door. “I wasn't giving you a choice.”

Mary's face fell. “Yes, Mama...” She gave Fritz one last glare before storming out, slamming the door behind her.

With Mary gone, a long, dead silence filled the gallery.

“This was fun!” said Olaf brightly. “We should have family sex meetings more often.”

 


	7. Going Away

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock_...

Mary hated that sound. At first she'd been only mildly annoyed by it, but five hours had been plenty of time for her feelings to blossom into outright hatred. During the day, it was barely audible, but in the dead of night, when you could hear a pin drop from the far end of the hallway, the clock was earsplitting.

Here Mary was again, hunched over her bedroom desk, struggling to see in the dying candlelight. On the carpet nearby were some books Mary hadn't felt like reading and some scattered pieces and a board from Mary's failed attempt to learn chess. Every so often, Mary would dip her pen into the inkwell and scrawl another couple lines in her journal. If one were standing over her shoulder and squinting in the failing light, they would make out nothing but disjointed words and phrases like “ _useless_ ,” “ _lonely_ ,” and “ _keep screwing up_.”

_Tick, tock, tick..._

Mary looked upwards. From the shelf, a stuffed bear wearing a dress and French braid looked back at her.

* * *

Mary watched the trees speed past, the sun on her face. She bet trees never questioned themselves. Never felt sad or purposeless. They just sucked in water and sunlight like they were supposed to, and every fall they dropped their leaves on schedule, and nobody ever gave them a hard time about it. Mary wondered who'd created trees. Clearly, they'd done a good job.

The point was, Mary was thinking about deep, philosophical, important things. She definitely wasn't obsessing over some silly breakup. That would be shallow.

“Hey, Mary?” A stick-arm poked Mary's thigh. She turned in the sled to find Olaf peering up at her, a handkerchief in his outstretched stick-arm.

Mary wordlessly accepted it and blew her nose. Snowmen didn't produce snot, of course, but Mary had recently discovered that their nostrils trickled water after intense crying.

“I knew packing a hanky was a good idea!” said Olaf proudly. “I wasn't going to at first, but then I thought to myself, 'Y'know what Olaf? Mary might not be crying right now, but she was sobbing all of last night and all of this morning, so she's probably gonna-'”

“ _Thank you_ , Olaf,” cut in Mary. “I'm fine.” She returned to watching the trees zoom by.

“Hey, Mary?” A minute later, the stick-arm poked her thigh once again.

“ _What?_ ” said Mary, her eyes fixed on the trees.

“It's gonna be okay.” Olaf gave her a bucktoothed smile. “I know Fritz breaking up with you is bad, but it could've been a lot worse. Sometimes boyfriends break up with their girlfriends by locking them in a room to freeze to death.”

Mary folded her arms. “I'm fine. You're the one who's way too happy all the time.”

“I'm not happy _all_ the time,” said Olaf, waddling towards her. “I can get pretty dark and brooding. Ooh, ooh, do you want a warm hug? I love those!”

Mary rolled her eyes and reluctantly accepted the hug. “But doesn't it bother you that you're this- this _inanimate object_ brought to life? Don't people treat you differently?”

“They do sometimes,” shrugged Olaf, “but that doesn't mean anything. Anna and Kristoff freaked out and kicked off my head when they first met me, and now they're my bestest buddies.” He leaned into Mary's ear and whispered, “If you ask me, their people skills could use a little work. You don't decapitate someone you've just met.”

Mary snorted and turned away.

Suddenly, the trees came to a halt. “We made it.” Kristoff climbed out, grabbed his ice-harvesting gear, and unhitched Sven from the sled.

“Why are Olaf and I here again?” asked Mary.

“Because we're the Official Substitute Ice Masters!” said Olaf, hopping out onto the frozen lake.

“Because I promised Olaf I'd let him tag along once a month,” said Kristoff. “And Anna thought it'd be a good idea for you to come, too. Just to see if ice-harvesting catches your interest, I guess.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “And I'm sure the fact that you're the 'love expert' had nothing to do with her request?”

“Hey, I never said I was an expert,” smirked Kristoff, turning towards the lake. “I've just got friends who are.”

“Friends like me!” added Olaf. “I'm a love expert! Ooh, ooh, Mary, have you tried going to Fritz's bedroom window and holding a gramophone over your head?”

“Hey, Olaf, why don't you go play with Sven for a minute?” Kristoff gave Olaf a look that made it clear this was not a suggestion.

“Sure.” Olaf shrugged and scurried off into the shrubbery. Sven followed after him – or, more specifically, after his nose.

Now Mary and Kristoff were alone. Mary let out a huff, which, given her lack of lungs, was done solely for the sake of making an annoyed sound.

Kristoff's eyes skimmed over the surrounding scenery. “Beautiful out here, isn't it?”

Mary nodded slowly. She was hardly in the mood to appreciate them, but she had to admit Arendelle's fjords were breathtaking. A river poured from one end of the frozen lake into the ocean, which loomed over the horizon. Birds and rabbits scurrying about the bushes, and the air smelled nice and felt crisp and cold against Mary's skin – though given the layers of clothing Kristoff was wearing, she assumed that part was a bit less pleasant to non-snowmen.

It should've been tranquil, but somehow, looking at the endless body of water made Mary feel uneasy. She'd never been this far from the castle before. Or from Elsa.

“Mary?” said Kristoff.

Mary scowled. Oh no, here it came. The real reason Anna had insisted Mary come here.

“All this stuff you're going through with Fritz... I know it feels like it's a huge deal, but you can't let yourself get so upset about it.”

“I know that,” said Mary dryly. “I'm not just upset because Fritz won't date me. It's the _reason_ he won't date me. You think Fritz is going to spend his life in a chaste relationship with some... some _stray thought_ Elsa had when she was eight? Fritz doesn't want to date a snowwoman. Nobody would.”

For a moment, Kristoff pondered this in silence. Mary was about to return her attention to the fjords when he suddenly said, “A couple years back, there was this girl named Amethyst, and let me tell you, she had the _biggest_ crush on me.”

“What?” Mary had been planning on tuning Kristoff out, but somehow, she found her head turning his way.

“And at first I freaked out about it because, hey, I was pretty close with the trolls, but I didn't want to get _that_ close, you know what I'm saying?” Kristoff let out an anxious laugh.

Mary gaped at him. “Amethyst was a-?”

“That's right,” sighed Kristoff. “My ex-girlfriend is a troll.”

“Ex-girlfriend?” Mary raised an eyebrow. “You mean you actually dated her?”

Kristoff shifted in place. “For a little while, but it didn't work out. We had more than a few problems.”

“Yeah!” spoke up a goofy, high-pitched voice. “Like how could you have-?”

“Sven!” Kristoff shot a dirty look towards his reindeer over by the shrubbery. “Don't be inappropriate!”

Mary's gaping did not cease. A couple questions came to mind, such as, “Was that supposed to be ventriloquism?” or “Why is Anna dating a crazy person?”

“Sure, I was raised by the trolls, and they're pretty much family, but there's so many of them, y'know?” said Kristoff. “I never met Amethyst until we were older.”

Mary's brow creased. “But you didn't stay together. How is that supposed to make me feel any better?”

“Yeah, we broke up, but that's not the point. The important thing is that we dated at all.” Kristoff hesitated slightly before patting Mary's shoulder. “I managed to look past who Amethyst was on the outside and like her for who she was on the inside.”

“Why did you break up with her?” asked Mary.

“Oh, she was insane,” said Kristoff. “I like a little craziness in a girlfriend, but there's a difference between being quirky and being _nuts_. At least with Anna, I never have to worry that she'll hunt down the next girl who makes eyes at me and knife her in her sleep.”

“ _What?_ ”

“In fact, come to think of it, Anna should probably keep her windows locked at night...” Kristoff stared off into space for a moment.

“I don't see how that helps me,” said Mary flatly.

Kristoff shrugged. “All I'm saying is it _is_ possible for humans and non-humans to date.”

“I keep telling you, we're just friends!” said the goofy voice.

“ _Shut up, Sven!_ ” Kristoff hissed, then turned back to Mary. “So when you told Fritz he only wanted to have sex and didn't love you, you weren't being fair. If he really loves you, he won't care what you can and can't do. There could be other reasons he doesn't want to date you anymore.”

Mary grunted and rolled over in the sled, hiding her face.

“Mary, heads up.” Kristoff tossed her his ice-pick. “C'mon, lake's not gonna cut itself.”

Mary reluctantly climbed out the sled, struggling to lift the pick. She was much weaker in her humanoid form, but Mary had no intention of morphing back into her attack form ever again.

“Kristoff?” Mary stared at the ice at her feet. It seemed much cloudier than Elsa's. Something about it made Mary think of phantoms. “You have a purpose, don't you? Harvesting ice, I mean?”

“Yep. It's what I do best.”

“How did you figure out that was your purpose?”

“Well, me and Sven always hung out with the other ice-cutters when we were kids.” As he spoke, Kristoff retrieved a handsaw from his tool-sack. “I wouldn't call it my 'purpose,' though. I just tried it and liked it, and, hey, it stopped me from being _completely_ penniless, so that was a plus.”

“Just tried it and liked it...” Mary repeated to herself.

“Hey, y'know what I've been thinking, Mary?” As he spoke, Kristoff heaved a giant ice-cube out of the lake. “Maybe this breakup can be a good thing for you. I mean, to be honest, if I were you, Fritz wouldn't be my first pick. The guy's a little, uh...”

* * *

“Waaaaaaaah! I'm a h-h-horrible person!”

“Shh, Fritz, it's okay...”

Elsa conjured up an ice-hanky and handed it to Fritz, who accepted it with trembling hands.

“What if- What if Mary was right?” Fritz blew his nose with a noise not unlike a volcanic eruption. “What if I _did_ brake up with her because I, I don't know, subconsciously don't want to date someone who can't have... have...” He glanced away, then said in the quietest possible voice, “... _sex?_ ”

Elsa straightened Fritz's emerald servant uniform. “That's not true, Fritz. Mary only said that because she was upset. If she was making you uncomfortable, you had every right to end things with her. Now try and pull yourself together. You have a job to do.”

“That's- That's right.” Fritz took a deep breath, then went for Elsa's bedroom door. “I need to go see if you've got a council meeting today.” He hurried off without another word.

As soon as he was gone, Elsa turned towards the other end of the bedroom, where Anna was leaned against the far wall. “Did I handle that well?”

“You did great,” Anna assured her. “Fritz worships the ground you walk on. He'll listen to you. And as for Mary, well, if Kristoff can't get her to see straight, no one can.”

“I hope this relationship drama gets settled soon,” sighed Elsa. “Fritz and Mary both seem so fragile... They were good influences on each other.”

“Hey, Elsa?” Anna stepped towards her sister. She seemed to be examining her carefully. “Between the way you've been disciplining your snowmen and the impromptu sex ed and stuff... maybe I'm just crazy, but are you.. are you trying to act like Mom?”

“Like our mother?” Elsa laughed. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Mama?” Mary stuck her head in the doorway.

“ _Mary!_ ” Elsa spun around, her eyes shooting towards the snowwoman's bare feet. “You lost your shoes _again?_ ”

Mary bowed her head, wincing. “I'm sorry, Mama.”

“You can't keep doing this, Mary!” Elsa flicked her wrist, causing a new pair of ice-heels to sprout over Mary's toes. “You need to learn personal responsibility for your possessions. Understand?” Mary nodded. “Good, good.” Elsa smoothed Mary's snowy hair, then kissed her forehead. “Now, how did the ice-cutting with Kristoff go?”

“You mean the excuse to get me alone with him so he could talk about my relationship problems?” smirked Mary. “It went fine.”

“Your Majesty, I- Oh.” Just then, Fritz started to return to the bedroom, but he froze in the hall when he caught sight of Mary. “Uh... hi.”

Mary stared at the wall behind Fritz. “Hi.”

There was a long silence.

“I, uh, I, uh, I-” Fritz only bit his tongue once or twice before he managed to look at Elsa and say, “I went to the council. There's a message for you. It sounded important.”

“A message?” repeated Elsa. “From who?”

“Apparently, a ship pulled into harbor this morning flying the flags of some other country. Probably a diplomatic thing.”

“Yuck, politics.” Anna made a face, then pushed past Fritz out the door. “I'm outta here.”

“I'll be right there.” Elsa shut the door, leaving Fritz out in the hall, then went for her dresser. “Mary, could you hand me the brush?” As she spoke, Elsa absently morphed her ice-nightgown into a dress and searched through the drawers for her makeup.

“Mama?” Mary said, skimming the shelves for the hairbrush. “Could I come with you to the council meeting? I promise I won't get in the way.”

“You want to come?” Elsa frowned at her. “Why?”

Mary shrank back, blushing with frost. “I've been reading up on Arendelle politics. It sounds interesting.”

Elsa laughed. “It's really not. But if you have nothing else to do, I guess you can come find that out for yourself...”

* * *

In retrospect, accompanying Elsa on her council meeting might not have been the wisest idea. The council was predominantly filled by wrinkly old men who didn't look the least bit open to the idea of talking snowmen. Some of them didn't even try to hide the fact that they were staring. Worst of all was Anders, who wasn't just staring, but giving her a downright sour look. Mary wished for the umpteenth time that snowwomen could hyperventilate. She felt like a shaken soda bottle that was sealed way too securely.

Mary shut her eyes and wished very hard that she could turn invisible. Elsa had made Mary a little ice-chair right next to her own icy throne, meaning Mary was trapped at the table in plain sight of everyone.

“I understand a diplomatic message has arrived from overseas?” In the council chamber, Elsa's voice sounded stronger, almost echoing.

“It's a show of good faith from the nation of Pagania,” said Anders. “They're offering to become trade partners with Arendelle.”

“Really?” said Elsa. “I thought every other country was scared I'd put them into eternal winter?”

“Pagania's always been more accepting of magic,” shrugged Anders. “Your parents had actually considered evacuating you there if word of your powers ever got out.”

“So they must have trusted this nation, right?” A smile spread across Elsa's face. “This is great news. If all goes well, other countries could start to follow Pagania's example.” She looked over the assortment of decrepit old men present. “Where's the Paganian diplomat? Why isn't he here already?”

“Err... That's the catch,” said Anders. “They didn't send a diplomat. They're only going to trade with us on one condition.”

“What is it?”

“They...” Anders took a breath. “They want you to sail over to Pagania and show off your magic.”

Elsa raised an eyebrow. “'Show off?'”

“The Paganians have always been... _fond_ of magic,” said Anders slowly.

“ _How_ fond?” asked Elsa.

* * *

At that exact moment, a fight was breaking out at a Paganian marketplace:

“ _H_ _and over the_ _L_ _imited_ _E_ _dition_ _S_ _parkle_ _S_ _now_ _G_ _oddess doll!_ _I_ _need that for my altar, you heathen!_ ”

* * *

“They enjoy it in moderation,” said Anders. “They'll treat you well. You should be fine.”

“That's settled, then.” Elsa rose to her feet. “The more people who accept my magic, the better. I'll have Fritz pack my things. We'll need a ship prepared, along with some servants, guards, and diplomats.”

“Mama, wait!” Suddenly, Mary grabbed Elsa's arm. “You're leaving? When?”

“As soon as I can,” said Elsa. “There's no reason to put it off.”

“How long will you be gone?” asked Mary.

“Well...” Elsa turned to Anders.

“They only asked for a couple days,” he said. “Add in the time sailing there and back, and I'd say you'll be gone three weeks. Maybe two if you're quick about it.”

“Two weeks?” Mary repeated faintly.

“Yes. Arendelle might not get another chance like this, so we need to seize the opportunity while we can.” Elsa made for the exit.

Her hand was around the doorknob when Mary cried out, “ _Wait!_ ”

Elsa paused and turned back. “What's wrong?”

Mary's entire body looked like an over-coiled spring. Her hands were starting to tremble. “You- You can't leave.”

“Why not?”

“You can't go!” Mary said louder. “ _You can't go!_ ”

If any council members hadn't been staring at Mary before, they definitely were now. Mary had never felt pain before, but she imagined it was something like the way her chest felt right now – so tight she could hardly move it.

Elsa stepped towards her. “Mary, are you alright?”

Something inside Mary snapped, and the next thing she knew, she was shrieking at the top of her voice: “ _No! No! Mama, please! Please! You can't go! You can't-!_ ”

'Your Majesty!” Suddenly, a handful of guards burst into the council chamber, followed by a flock of curious servants and maids. A certain feisty princess pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

“What's going on?” asked Anna. “Someone was screaming bloody murder in here!”

Before Elsa could react, Mary pinned her to the floor with a hug. “ _Don't go! Don't go! Please! Please!_ ”

Mary was dimly aware that flailing around and sobbing hysterically wasn't normal behavior, but she couldn't make herself stop until Elsa hugged her back and frantically whispered, “Shh, shh, it's alright, Mary. I've got you, I've got you.”

The entire palace staff waited with baited breath for Mary's sobbing to cease. Eventually, her crying lowered itself to somewhere in the “indoor voice” range.

“Elsa?” Anna ran to her side. “What happened?”

“I... I...” Mary grasped for words. Her eyes flickered towards the council members, every last one of whom were staring at her.

“Mary...” Elsa hesitated before saying, “Please don't take this the wrong way, but... Well, it's a little had to judge exactly how old my snowmen are mentally, but Anna and I had assumed you were mentally a teenager. But... with how you've been acting lately...” She shifted in place. “...it's possible you're more akin to a child than a teenager.”

“ _What?_ ” Mary's jaw hung open. “Are you joking? Do you have any idea how many books I read _per night?_ ”

“I'm not saying you're not smart!” said Elsa hurriedly, raising her hands soothingly.

“I'm getting tired of this!” snapped Mary. “Tired of being patronized and ignored and- and treated like your pretty bauble!”

“I'm sorry, I'm not trying to patronize you,” said Elsa, almost pleadingly. “I'm only trying to account for how other people see you-”

“I'm not your dress-up doll, Elsa!” yelled Mary. “I'm not your pet or your toy or your imaginary friend! I'm _real_. You can't forget about me and abandon me like before. I'm not like Olaf. I'm not blissfully happy. I need more from life. I can't figure out what to- what to do with myself! ” She threw her arms in the air. “I need a purpose!”

“A purpose?” repeated Elsa.

Mary scowled at her. “Yes, a purpose.”

“You...” Elsa took a breath. “You don't have one, really.”

The scowl vanished. “What?”

Elsa hung her head. “When I first dreamed you up, I was a little girl playing with my toys – You were no different from my dolls or my stuffed animals or Olaf. I didn't know you'd ever be _real_. I made you by complete accident. You've _all_ been accidents – I would never bring a snowman to life on purpose. The whole idea's kind of disturbing, honestly.” She met Mary's eyes. “I'm sorry I made you introverted enough that you can't be blissfully happy like Olaf and the others.”

“You're- You're sorry I'm not like Olaf?” said Mary, dazed.

“I'm sorry you exist, alright?” There was nothing calm or controlled about Elsa's voice anymore. It was shaking, and not from anger. “You're a product of my powers being out of control, and I _hate it!_ All I've ever wanted is to not hurt people, and now it's like my magic made someone out of thin air just so I could hurt them.”

“You're sorry I exist?” Mary repeated.

“What?” Elsa gave a start. “Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that-”

“Your Majesty.” One of the councilmen cleared his throat.

Elsa sighed, then turned back to Mary. “Go to your bedroom. I'll be with you in a minute, I promise.”

Mary wordlessly made for the door. The crowd parting at her approach, giving her a wide girth.

With Mary gone, Elsa turned to the flood of onlookers and said, “Show's over. Nowback to work, everyone.” The mob gave their queen some hurried excuses and dispersed, allowing Elsa to lead her sister into the hallway.

“You okay?” frowned Anna.

“Just embarrassed.” Elsa hid her eyes in her hand. “Between this and Mary attacking that man, the entire council must think I can't control my snowmen at all.”

“Is it just me, or has Mary been kind of a brat lately?” said Anna. “You've been mollycoddling her, that's the problem. Whatever this trip to Pogo-land is, don't cancel it.”

“Pagania,” said Elsa. “I was invited there as part of a diplomatic mission.” She glanced at a nearby grandfather clock. “I only have a few hours before I board the ship. I need to get some sleep.” Elsa turned for the doorway. “I should apologize to Mary. I don't want us to be on bad terms before I leave her for weeks.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Anna, following after her.

The sisters ventured out into the bedchambers hallway, but as it turned out, Mary's door was locked tight.

“Looks like she's picking up some bad habits from you,” muttered Anna.

Elsa gave the door a gentle rap. “Mary, can you hear me?” No reply. “Mary, listen, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for what I said. I love you no matter what, and I'm glad you exist. You're part of my family.”

Elsa paused, but she received no reply.

“Alright, Mary,” said Elsa, bowing her head. “I'll give you some time alone. I know I upset you. I'll be gone in the morning, so if you have anything to say to me...” Still no reply. “Alright. I understand. Goodbye, Mary. I love you.”

Elsa reluctantly left the door and turned to Anna. “Take care of her while I'm gone.”

“I will.” Anna smiled. “Don't worry, Elsa, everything's gonna be fine.”

* * *

A cold wind blew through Mary's bedroom window. Elsa's words would've been touching if Mary had actually been around to hear them.

* * *

A pair of guards stood, same posture, facing the same way, horizontally aligned, on opposite sides of the palace gates, staring ahead, stone still. From now on, the gates were always to remain open, even in the dead of night.

Minutes passed.

“I miss you,” spoke up the one on the left.

The guard on the right rolled his eyes. “I thought I told you never to speak to me again.”

“It feels like we've grown so far apart...”

“That's because I don't love you anymore.”

If they'd been less entwined in their own drama, they might have noticed the walking bundle of drama sneaking past them out the gates.

* * *

Mary didn't know how far she ran. Her body was powered purely by magic. With no muscles, she couldn't grow tired. Couldn't ache. At least, not physically.

 _I'm sorry you exist._ The words rang in her icy ears.

Mary's bare feet pounded over the cobblestone, her personal flurry leaving a dusting of snow behind her. She'd left her ice-high heels behind somewhere, along with her glasses. She'd never wear them. Never again.

At some point, Mary reached the far edge of town and collapsed into a dead end alleyway. It wasn't that she was exhausted – She couldn't _get_ exhausted – but with nowhere left to run, Mary honestly had no idea what to do with herself. She supposed this was the inevitable conclusion of her life. Mary was worse than a phantom. She'd never been alive in the first place. Never had a purpose. Never been wanted, only tolerated. Nothing but a pretty bauble to be admired when it caught the regular people's fancy. Mary wasn't even supposed to have the self-awareness to realize it. If Elsa had her way, Mary would be a drooling mouthbreather like Olaf or Marshmallow.

A fluke. That was all Mary was. Some quirk of Elsa's powers set off when she got upset. Heck, Elsa had wanted that stupid cat alive more than she'd wanted Mary. All this time, Mary had been fooling herself.

Lifting her head off the pavement was difficult, but Mary managed it once the sound of footsteps sparked her curiosity. In the darkness, she could make out a group of five burly, rugged men coming towards her down the alley. One of them was lagging behind the rest, hobbling on somewooden crutches.

“I'm surprised you were stupid enough to show your face here again, especially all alone.” The crippled man pulled himself into the moonlight. A pair of identical, jagged scars ran down either side of his cheeks, one a bit pinker and fresher than the other.

Mary gently returned her head to the pavement. She noticed idly that each of the four thugs surrounding the crippled man was wielding something in their hands – ice-picks, steel poles, and other blunt objects.

“I'm afraid I don't know the anatomy of the queen's snow-monsters,” said the crippled man, “so we'll just have to break everything at once.”

Mary shut her eyes.

* * *

The face was the first thing hit. One second, it was a pristine, gorgeous, otherworldly woman, and the next, it was shards crinkling into the dirt. Next, one of the boys kicked the thing over onto its stomach and planted the ice-pick right in its chest with an earsplitting _crack_.

The creature didn't scream. It stayed perfectly silent the entire time, offering no resistance. The crippled man wasn't sure if he was impressed or disappointed.

_Crack. Crack. Crack._

After a while, there wasn't much left that could pass for a girl. Nothing but pieces, none bigger than his fist.

One of men picked up a stray pinky. “Look at this!” Every couple seconds, the finger would twitch. The man howled with laughter and stowed it away in his pocket.

The crippled man hobbled his way through the wreckage. With a bit of effort, he managed to kneel down and sift through the ice-creature's pieces. Luckily, one of the eyes was still intact. He held it in his palm, staring into its icy iris.

“You think it can still see us?” asked one of the men.

The crippled man pulled himself back onto his crutches. “I hope so.”

“Well, that had better have been worth it to you,” said one of the older men. “Now hand over the money so we can get out of here before the queen finds out. I'm not eager to freeze to death.”

“Fine, fine.” The crippled man tossed the other four some sacks of money, along with some larger, empty sacks.

“Holy crap, where'd you get all this?” One of the boys let out an impressed whistle.

“Would you believe that sorceress actually tried to pay me to keep quiet?” The crippled man chuckled to himself. “Now, if you don't want her to find out, each of you need to scoop up some ice and get out of here.”

The boys readily complied, filling their empty bags with about a fourth of the snow-monster apiece. The flurry cloud that always hovered above the creature seemed to flutter around in circles, like it was confused on where to go. It couldn't stop the creature from melting if its pieces were scattered to the far corners of town, now could it?

Putting all his weight against one crutch, the crippled man used his free hand to hold the ice-eye up to his face. “Find some nice, open spots to dump the pieces,” he said. “Look for places that get plenty of sun.”

Somehow, the eyeball felt damp in the crippled man's hand, almost as if water was trickling off it.

 


	8. Little Pieces

Being made of ice and snow, Mary couldn't feel pain. This was lucky because otherwise she imagined having her face caved in by a crowbar would smart. Mary watched in a daze as shards of ice dropped off her cheeks. The next thing she knew, Mary was subjected to the unusual view from her eyes as they rolled out of their sockets. The whole world turned into two spinning, jumbled images until the first eye shattered on the pavement. The second landed on a softer patch of dirt and rolled to a halt.

There was something disorienting about watching one's own body from the outside, especially when said body was getting smashed to pieces. Though she could feel every blow, Mary wasn't panicked, exactly. With her throat shattered, she couldn't scream, and with her ears shattered, she couldn't hear. It was almost tranquil.

By the time the men stopped their hammering, Mary's body looked more like a broken window than a woman. Nothing humanoid remained, save some stray digits and the snow-hair sticking out Mary's broken scalp. Mary impulsively tried to move, but the most she could manage was to wiggle what was left of her fingers. When magically granting Mary mobility, Elsa apparently hadn't accounted for her being smashed to pieces. Mary was made of ice, not snow – she wasn't soft and squishy like Olaf. With her body broken, Mary was effectively paralyzed.

Suddenly, Mary's line of sight shot upwards. It took her a moment to realize that the crippled man had scooped her eyeball into his palm. The men seemed to be debating amongst each other, but without ears, Mary couldn't catch a word they were saying. She'd heard fine without ears back when she was an ice-mirror, but apparently the inner workings of her senses were dictated by Elsa's subconscious, and Elsa's subconscious thought that if a human-shaped snowman loses their ears, they must be deaf.

From her new viewpoint, Mary watched the men shovel her remains into their sacks. Mary's personal flurry seemed to spin around frantically, unsure which sack to follow.

Mary tried to close her remaining eye, but this wasn't really doable when her eye and eyelid were a good three feet away from each other. Well, what did it matter? Mary had never really been wanted anyways. If she was going to spend her existence lingering aimlessly, what difference did it make if she did it paralyzed and in pieces?

_I'm sorry you exist._

At least her beloved didn't have to be sorry anymore. That was... That was one good thing that came of this...

Apparently, even when disembodied, Mary's eye could still shed tears.

* * *

The crippled man hobbled through the pitch-black wilderness, silently cursing every time his crutch struck rock or slipped in mud. This journey would've been much faster on horseback, but horseback riding generally requires a working set of legs. As do several other activities, such as supporting your family and being self-dependent.

After an eternity, the crippled man reached the head of a small chasm of rocks. It was hard to judge the exact distance in the darkness, but it looked like quite a drop. The man set down a crutch so he could retrieve the orb of ice from his pocket. He held it up to eye-level with his fingers, letting it glisten under the northern lights overhead.

“Wonder if you can still hear me?” he said aloud.

Mary's eye stared back at him.

“Well, guess it doesn't matter.” He chuckled to himself. “Y'know, pretty soon the wife's gonna be wondering where all our money went, but it was worth it. I'd kill myself before I'd take charity from a witch. Swear to God, one of these days we're all gonna freeze to death because none of us had the guts to stand up to her.”

As he spoke, the man idly tossed Mary's eye in the air, bouncing it in his palm. “Nobody except Prince Hans. Now _there_ was a man with conviction. I watched him fight one of the queen's snow-monsters and _win_. Figured if he could do it, so could me and the boys.” He stopped the bouncing so he could look Mary in her frosty pupil. “To be honest, I was expecting more of a struggle. Got all excited when I saw your little snow cloud trail, rounded everyone up so we could chase after you... all for an anticlimax. Guess you just won't stop screwing me over until you're dead, will you?”

Another water droplet trickled off the eye. His palm must've been melting it already.

“ _Can_ you die?” The man let out a snort. “What am I saying? You were never alive in the first place. You're nothing but a soulless, ungodly _thing_ made by sorcery, aren't you?”

Slowly, the man closed his fist around the ice, then held it over the chasm. “Doesn't feel so good, does it, monster? Being crippled. I just wish you'd screamed or cried or something. I wanted you to feel everything I felt.”

He opened his hand.

* * *

Of course, Mary had been deafened, so she hadn't taken in a word he said. Mary had been forced to watch the man's lips flap until he finally decided to drop her. Her eye plummeted for a couple seconds before striking stone and shattering. Like a candle blowing out, Mary's vision turned to darkness.

This was it. Mary was gone. Except... Except this wasn't the same as being erased. Despite the distance between them, Mary could feel each of her pieces. Some were lying in dirt, some in cloth, and some in grass. If she really tried, Mary could make her fingers twitch slightly, but other than that, she had nothing. Not even a heartbeat to measure the passage of time.

Mary wondered how long this purgatory would last. She had to melt eventually, right? Elsa had never actually allowed her snowmen to completely melt before, so nobody knew what exactly would happen if they did, but the general consensus was that it was very bad and should be avoided at all costs.

However, plenty of Elsa's non-sentient ice and snow had melted, and, like all frozen water, it'd turned to liquid. But Elsa had ice powers, not water powers. Her magic couldn't keep liquid sustained – after a while, it'd vanish back into the thin air it came from. Once she was melted, Mary would be erased again, wouldn't she?

That was... good. If she was being perfectly honest with herself, Mary hadn't been enjoying the ability to think lately, even before her body was destroyed. Before thinking, everything had been so much easier. The imaginary Mary had never had to worry about displeasing her beloved Elsa.

Mary... Mary deserved this, didn't she? Mary had broken that man's legs. Mary had ruined her relationship with Fritz. These people... they didn't just hate Mary because she was a snowwoman. They hated her because... because she'd hurt them.

Mary was... selfish... She was so selfish...

_I'm sorry you exist._

Soon, everything would be righted. There were no ticking clocks in this purgatory, so Mary had no way to tell how much time had passed, but she could swear she felt a warmness overtaking her pieces. It had to be the sunrise.

Yes... Yes, she could feel her pieces growing softer, growing smaller, growing warmer. This was good. Mary loved heat. It was... the only pleasure... the only pleasure snowmen could feel. Warmer... Warmer... Now she could feel some of her pieces leaving her, disappearing altogether...

She was melting.

* * *

The personal flurry cloud let out a relieved squeak and floated down into the chasm. Its host splitting apart had greatly confused the flurry, but now it'd finally made up its mind and followed after the crippled man. Luckily, the sunlight hadn't quite reached the chasm yet, meaning the remains of Mary's eye were intact. The flurry cheerfully stationed itself above the ice shards, sprinkling them with snow. The Snow Queen had given it specific orders to prevent the snowwoman from melting, and, sure, the flurry had kind of let ninety-nine percent of her melt, but so long as at least an itty bitty piece was kept frozen, it'd technically done its job.

* * *

Every wave was a tsunami, every gust a typhoon. Elsa stood at the edge of the docks, gazing into the boundless body of water trailing past the horizon. It looked like it was taunting her, like it was daring her to allow herself to be swallowed by the-

“Queen Elsa, I'm almost done packing!” A scrawny boy in an ill-fitting servant uniform sprinted to Elsa's side, carrying enough luggage to fill half the boat. “This is all your essentials. I'll be back in a minute with the next load.”

“Good, good,” Elsa said absently. Fritz scurried off, though she hardly noticed. It was like the sea had her in a trance.

“Elsa.” There was, however, one voice strong enough to grab her attention. Elsa turned to find her sister coming towards her. Anna had her hair up, and she was wearing a dark purple jacket over her dress. Elsa started to wonder why before she remembered that regular people didn't go around sleeveless in the middle of September.

Elsa put on a smile. “I guess this is goodbye.”

“We'll see each other soon enough.” Anna tried to sound relaxed, but the tightness of her goodbye hug betrayed her. “Try not to have too much fun without me, okay?”

“Your Majesty!” It was at this point that Fritz returned with load two, which was about twice the size of load one. “Just a few things left. I'm gonna go get you a quilt. The crew says the ship's blankets are moth-eaten, and that's not fit for a queen, now is it?”

“Yes, that's fine,” said Elsa, idly waving her hand like she was shooing a fly away.

As Fritz scurried off, Elsa turned back to her sister. “Are you sure you don't want to come?”

“A diplomatic voyage to discuss trade negotiations sounds enticing, but I'll pass,” said Anna. “Besides, somebody's got to stay here and keep an eye on Mary.”

“I left a guard outside her door,” said Elsa. “He says she hasn't gone anywhere since last night. She's still locked in her room, giving me the silent treatment.”

“She's just being moody,” said Anna. “I'd blame it on hormones, but, y'know...”

“I'm packing some of your books in case you need something to do on the trip!” Fritz made the sprint from the docks to the castle and back oddly quickly. “Your favorite is _Advanced Geometrics,_ _Ninth_ _Edition,_ _Volume_ _Five-A_ , right?”

“ _Five-B_ ,” said Elsa.

“I'll bring the whole set to be safe.” Before she could protest, Fritz ran off.

Elsa sighed and turned back to Anna. “I think this runs deeper than Mary being moody.”

Anna brought a hand to her shoulder. “Don't sweat the emotional stuff right now, okay? You need to focus on the political stuff. You'll get the kinks with Mary ironed out once you get back.”

Elsa nodded feebly.

“Queen Elsa!” Fritz spontaneously reappeared at Elsa's side, total urgency in his voice. “Before we go... have you used the bathroom?”

Elsa gave him a blank stare. “Isn't there one on the ship?”

“Oh, right, right...” Fritz backed away, blushing. “Well, then, c'mon, it's time to go.”

“I guess this is it.” Elsa gave Anna one last hug, then followed Fritz up the harbor ramp.

“What about a lantern?” said Fritz. “I hear it gets darker way earlier in Pagania.”

“Yes, that's fine.”

“And some seasickness medicine! You've never been out at sea before. Who knows what'll happen to your intestines?”

“Alright, Fritz...”

“Oh, and we can't forget the spare dresses. I know you wear that ice-dress all the time, but maybe you'll want some variety.”

“Fritz, I'll be fine, really.”

“Wait! We can't forget the chocolate! In case you need a snack! And- and an extra pillow, and soap, and toothpaste, and monkey chow-”

Elsa raised an eyebrow. “Monkey chow? For what?”

“Well, for the-”

“Ma'am.”

Elsa and Fritz were halted at the top of the ramp by a rugged, square-jawed old man.

“Is there a problem, captain?” asked Elsa.

The captain glanced at the waves pounding the side of the ship. “The weather conditions are less than ideal at the present, Your Majesty. If there's no particular hurry to get to Pagania, I suggest we delay until tomorrow.”

“Of course.” Elsa was a little happier at this than she liked to admit to herself.

“Sweet!” said Anna, running up to the ramp. “You didn't have anything else planned, right? Free day!”

As it would later turn out, the weather wasn't actually that bad, but for some reason, when it came to sending the royalty overseas, there was an unspoken rule in the royal dockyard to always, always, _always_ err on the side of caution.

* * *

The rest of her should've melted by now. Mary had felt all her other pieces melt. She was certain! At least... she _thought_ she'd been certain. It was so hard to tell when she was blind and deaf, barely able to wiggle the last remaining chunks of her eyeball. The only sense left was the feel of rock against her pieces, along with the gentle trickle of snowflakes. That... That could only be her flurry cloud...

That clenched it, then. Mary would stay here, abandoned, forgotten, able to do nothing in this claustrophobic darkness. Forever.

* * *

The next day was also judged unsafe to set sail. And the day after that.

* * *

The flurry cloud prided itself on a job well done. It wasn't entirely sure if Elsa was aware her snowmen's personal flurries were all sentient, but it didn't matter. The flurry loved keeping snowmen from melting. So long as it was fulfilling its creator's wishes, it was content.

Sure, sometimes the job got a little tedious, but the thought of how happy it was making Mary gave the flurry the strength to go on.

* * *

“Wow,” said Anna, “who'd have thought it'd take the better part of a week for the ocean to calm down?”

“Well, we can't delay any longer.” Elsa took one last wistful glance at the setting sun before climbing up the ramp. “Goodbye, Anna.”

“Bye.” Anna frowned, examining her sister closely. “Hey, Elsa, everything alright?”

Elsa allowed herself to sigh. “Mary hasn't left her room all week. Hasn't spoken to anyone. Hasn't even made a sound.”

“Want me to jimmy the lock and drag her out of there?”

“No, no, I think she wants her space,” said Elsa. “I'm sure Mary will come out when she's ready. I don't see the harm in it. She's made of ice – It's not like she can hurt herself.”

“Yeah, I guess. You'd think she'd at least get bored, though.”

Elsa nodded, then wordlessly climbed onto the deck. The sea was perfectly smooth today, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in Elsa's stomach. How could she have ignored Mary for this long? She should've broken that lock, stormed in there, put her arms around her child...

But then the calmness flashed through Elsa's mind. The calmness as Mary wormed into her head, seizing control. No. No, Anna was right, Elsa couldn't keep giving in to her.

“All aboard!” the captain bellowed from behind the wheel.

Elsa would see her again. Mary could wait a few weeks.

Slowly but surely, the boat began pulling away from the entry ramp...

“Hey, guys, is this a bad time?” At the last possible second, a certain bucktoothed snowman waddled onto the dock, and Elsa motioned for the captain to wait. The crew collectively rolled their eyes and dropped anchor.

“Olaf? What is it?” Elsa called down to him.

“You know how you told me Mary was upset and I should give her some space?” said Olaf. “I, uh, I might not have followed the letter of the law, exactly, and oddly enough, my nose makes a great lock pick, and long story short, I went into Mary's room and she's not there.”

“ _What?_ ”

* * *

It wasn't until the sun had set that the guards finally returned.

One of them stepped forward, gingerly extending a gloved palm towards his queen. “Your Majesty?” And resting in said palm was a lone, perfect eyeball of ice, a personal flurry diligently hovering above it.

“You found her!” cheered Olaf. “Huh, Mary's a lot shorter than I remembered...”

“We spotted the snow cloud in a pit out in the wilderness,” said the guard.

“Uh...” Anna leaned down to give the eyeball a poke. “The rest of her's coming next, right?”

The guard bowed his head. “I'm sorry, Your Highness. This was all we found of her.”

“What?” scoffed Anna. “Mary's just an eyeball now? How the heck did that happen?”

“I'm sure she'll explain herself.” With a flourish of her hand, Elsa summoned fresh ice over the eyeball, twisting and stretching it until it took on a familiar, womanly shape. Icy nails sprang from her fingers, white snow-hair sprouted from her scalp, and even her dress, high heels, and glasses appeared fully-formed on Mary's body. The end result was a complete snowwoman.

Mary gave her creator a glassy stare.

“Mary?” Elsa immediately wrapped her arms around her. “What happened?”

There was a moment of silence.

“Nothing,” said Mary. “Nothing happened.”

 


	9. Life and Death

For a solid minute, the group stood motionless on the dock, Elsa's arms around Mary, Anna and Olaf watching from the sidelines, and Mary giving Elsa that same glassy stare. Behind them, the ship bobbed impatiently in the harbor.

“What do you mean, nothing happened?” Elsa finally released her snowwoman. She had to hold her own arms to stop them from shaking. “ _Something_ had to have happened – There was nothing left of you but an eye! Did you do that to yourself on purpose?”

“Yes,” said Mary dully. “I suppose I did.”

Elsa scowled. “If you're trying to guilt-trip me, it's not going to work.” She grabbed Mary's hand. “You're coming back to your room, and you're forbidden from sneaking out of the castle.” No matter how hard Elsa glared into Mary's eyes, they stayed perfectly blank.

Mary stayed silent. Elsa huffed, then dragged her by the hand towards the castle. Mary followed along without protest.

* * *

By the time Anna reached the castle, there were two guards stationed by Mary's bedroom door and one on the ground outside beneath the window, but there was no Elsa to be found. After a bit of searching, Anna tracked her down to the garden. Elsa stood at the far side, her back to Anna. The mud had all dried up by now, but the garden still didn't look too great. The chilly air wasn't exactly conductive to its usual selection of beautiful flowers.

“Elsa, what's up with-?” Hold up. The air was a little _too_ chilly for April. “Uh, Elsa-?”

Elsa screamed, and the next thing Anna knew, half the garden was covered in snow.

“ _Elsa!_ ” Naturally, Anna's first impulse was to run straight towards the out-of-control sorceress.

Elsa screamed again and dropped to her knees. A frigid wind swooped through, but this time the ice actually stopped midway through freezing the rest of the garden. Anna reached Elsa's side to find her head inches from the dirt, staring at a tiny brown beetle. Elsa's snow had made a perfect circle around the insect.

“I'm sorry,” Elsa said hoarsely. “I didn't mean to lose control.”

Anna knelt down to put a hand on her back. “It's gonna be okay, Elsa. Believe it or not, I was a moody preteen girl once. I argued with our mom all the time, but eventually I got over myself. Mary will come around, too. You've got to be patient.”

Elsa shook her head. “I can't do this, Anna. I'm not Mary's mother. It was stupid of me to try and act like I was... and now look what I've done to her.”

“You haven't done anything. She's guilt-tripping you, remember?”

“But what if she isn't? What if- What if she was trying to...” Elsa feebly turned her head to meet Anna's eyes. “...to melt herself?” Then, in a near-whisper, she added, “What if Mary doesn't want to exist anymore?”

“Elsa, that's not-”

“Mary's not a regular person.” Elsa's voice was growing frantic. “She came from my mind. What if, somehow, my own isolation, _my_ depression, led her to this? How am I supposed to live with myself?”

“Well, you can start by not feeding yourself that baloney,” said Anna. “Mary's being a drama queen, and that's all there is to it.”

Elsa gingerly rose to her feet. “I... I guess you're right. She's... She's trying to provoke me...” It almost sounded more like she was talking to herself than to Anna.

Elsa made for the garden exit, and Anna followed after her. In her hurry, Anna nearly tripped over the big mound of snow Elsa had left in the grass.

* * *

Apparently, despite lacking the will to live, Mary had found the strength to lock her door from the inside. Elsa and Anna were forced to stand outside in the hall, the guards respectfully moving out of their way. Hopefully, Mary was actually on the other side this time.

“Mary?” Elsa rapped on the wood. “Listen, I know my reaction the other night upset you, and I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean to make you feel unwanted or useless. You're part of our family, Mary, and I've never once regretted creating you. I love you, and that will never change.” She was met once again with silence, though this time Elsa caught the sound of the mattress creaking, so she knew Mary had at least heard her. “I can't delay the voyage any longer. Goodbye, Mary. We'll speak more when I get back.”

With that, Elsa turned for the stairs. “Anna?” She put a hand on her sister's shoulder and smiled. “I know you'll take care of her while I'm gone.”

Anna smiled back. “I handled you when you were making an eternal winter – I think I can handle an angsty snowwoman.”

* * *

Olaf didn't quite understand the concept of sadness. Admittedly, there were a whole lot of concepts Olaf didn't quite understand, but sadness was the one he didn't quite understand the most. Olaf had only come kind of close to grasping it once, the time Anna had turned into an ice-statue. For a second there, he'd thought she'd stay a statue forever, which would've been no good. It'd made Olaf feel cold and damp inside. Well, actually, he was made of snow, so he usually felt like that, but this had been different. It was hard to explain these things when you were a snowman of very little brain.

However, despite his limited understanding of the concept, Olaf was fairly certain Mary was feeling very, very sad right now. Luckily, Olaf had an easy fix for this. One warm hug, and Mary would be good as new.

“Mary?” Olaf bounced past the guards to Mary's bedroom door and knocked. “It's me, your favorite brother!” He waited patiently but received no reply. Mary probably hadn't heard him. It was pretty hard to make a good, loud knock when your arms were literally the size of twigs.

Olaf tried the doorknob, but it didn't budge. Huh, Mary must've locked it by accident again. No big deal – Olaf was the master of unlocking. One carrot-in-the-keyhole later, he was waddling into the bedroom.

“Who wants a hug?” cheered Olaf, spreading his arms wide.

Mary was sprawled across the bed, her shoes and glasses lying in pieces on the floor. She bore an uncanny resemblance to an elderly cat who'd just learned it had to share the house with the new puppy.

Olaf took her silence as a yes and ran over to give Mary a big squeeze.

“I don't want a hug.” Mary's resistance only made the hug stronger.

“What?” Olaf let out an incredulous laugh. “But everybody wants hugs!”

“Don't you get it?” Mary snapped. “Being a snowman is a horrible life!”

“Are you kidding? I can use my nose as a lock pick! What's not to love?”

“Get off of me!” Suddenly, Olaf's butt found itself in the hallway, and his head and torso quickly followed suit.

“I was just trying to cheer you up, Mary,” said Olaf. “I'm your brother. I worry about you.”

“Brother?” spat Mary. “Is that what you think? That we're part of a family?”

“Well... yeah,” said a disarmed Olaf. “I was pretty sure we were.”

“I'll tell you what we are: _toys_. We're nothing but Elsa's stupid toys, and she's outgrown us.” As she spoke, Mary's icy fingers clamped around the edge of the door. “Elsa will _tolerate_ her snowmen, but she's never _wanted_ us. We're an unfortunate side effect of her powers, an accident she's forced to put up with. I can't do this anymore. I can't keep living like some house pet, and you wouldn't be able to either if you weren't a _pathetic, annoying,_ _worthless_ _idiot_.”

 _Slam_.

Olaf stared at the closed door before him.A minute later, he caught the sound of a lock clicking, followed by the sound of furniture being pushed in front of the doorway.Generally, this would be seen a sign that Mary wanted to be alone,but Olaf was a snowman of very little brain. “Mary? Mary? I think you locked your door by accident. Again. Hello? Mary? Don't you want to play?”

What Olaf didn't realize was that there was someone standing across the hallway, watching his struggle to open his sister's door.

Anna clenched her fists.

* * *

Now that Olaf had mercifully left and the door was barricaded by her dresser drawer, Mary had no intention of allowing anyone into her room ever again. She would simply stay in bed doing absolutely nothing, and nobody could do anything about it. Mary had no responsibilities, no obligations, not even the need to eat food or use the bathroom. She would lie here motionless forever. Really, it made no difference if Mary stayed here or at the bottom of that chasm.

Mary wasn't planning on caring about anything ever again, but then, it's hard not to care when a princess suddenly climbs in through your bedroom window.

“ _What are you-?_ ” Mary impulsively sprang to her feet and ran to her windowsill to help Anna inside. “Are you trying to break your neck?”

“Don't worry,” said Anna, “I've been doing this for years and I haven't- _Whoa!_ ” Luckily, Mary was there to break Anna's fall... with her face. “Sorry, sorry...”

“What are you doing in here?” grumbled Mary, prying Anna off of her and pulling herself to her feet.

“We need to talk.” As she spoke, Anna shut the window behind her and dusted off her dress. “Look, I know you're upset, I get it, but you need to stop acting up. Elsa's starting to freak out. Even Olaf's worried, and I didn't know he could _get_ worried.”

“So what?” Mary looked away, folding her arms. “I'm not going back to my old life. I can't keep living like that. Wandering the halls, not knowing what to do with myself, feeling-”

“-lonely and bored and useless and forgotten?” finished Anna. “I know what it's like, Mary.” She reached for Mary's hand. “I went through the same thing.”

“But- But you seem so happy now.” Mary glanced away. “What did you do?”

“I dunno,” shrugged Anna. “I guess once Elsa's coronation came around, I decided that instead of sitting around being miserable, I'd meet new people, make friends, go on adventures, reconnect with Elsa... and then I did it. All of it.”

Mary silently cursed herself. After her time in the chasm, she'd thought her tears had finally run dry, but there were still a couple left. “I... I...” Mary tried to tell Anna about what the crippled man had done, but the words wouldn't come. “I miss Elsa,” she found herself saying. “I miss her already.”

Anna gave a sympathetic smile. “Me too. It's pretty freaky knowing she's gonna be spending the next few weeks on a boat in the ocean after, y'know... the stuff that happened.”

“Right,” said Mary dully. “The stuff that happened.”

There was a brief lapse in the conversation so the two of them could stare off into space.

“But it's a pretty stupid thing to be scared about.” Anna forced a laugh. “I mean, what's the absolute worst-case scenario? Lightning hits Elsa's boat and it catches fire and gets a huge hole and pirates attack right as it starts to sink? Know what would happen then?”

Mary shook her head.

“Elsa would bust out her powers. She'd put out all the fire and patch up the hole with ice and whoop all the pirates' butts.” Anna grinned. “That sounds awesome, actually. See, now I _want_ that to happen...”

* * *

The floor was moving. _The floor was moving_. Oh lord, Elsa was going to lose her lunch. She could already feel the sweat freezing to her forehead.

“Your Majesty!” Fritz hurried into the queen's quarters, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature. At his approach, Elsa looked up from the novel she'd been reading. “I got some seasickness medicine from the crew.” He checked the bottle in his hand. “It's something called... opium.”

“I'll pass,” said Elsa flatly. “Thanks anyways.” She rolled over under her bedsheets, clutching her stomach.

“Do you need anything else?” asked Fritz. “Fluffed pillow? Glass of water? Foot massage?”

Elsa shook her head. “I just need to rest.” She set the novel down on her bedside. Trying to read had given her a killer headache, anyways.

“Okay.” Fritz turned around and slinked out the door. “Get better soon, El- Err, Your Majetsy. Get better soon, Your Majesty.” He reached for the doorknob.

“Fritz, wait!” Elsa found herself springing out of the covers. Fritz paused, giving her a concerned look. “I... I'll take that fluffed pillow,” Elsa said lamely.

“Of course, of course!” Fritz ran to her side and obediently fluffed it. “Anything else, Your Majesty?”

“'Elsa' is fine, Fritz.”

Fritz reddened. “Right, right. I meant to say, 'Anything Elsa, Your Majesty?' Wait, what?” He flushed, then made once again for the door. “I, uh, I'll just be leaving...”

“Wait!” Before she could process what she was doing, Elsa grabbed Fritz's arm. “Don't go.” Fritz stared at her fingers. She had never seen him look so simultaneously terrified and delighted before. “Please... stay.”

“What's the matter?”

“It's this boat,” admitted Elsa, sheepishly releasing his arm. “You're my friend, and I would... I would feel better if you stayed here a while.”

“Oh! Because of your parents!” The instant the words left his lips, Fritz hiccuped and clamped his hands over his mouth.

Elsa shut her eyes and counted to ten in her head. “Yes, Fritz. Thank you.”

“ _I_ _'_ _m so sorry Your Elsasty I'm such an idiot please don't fire me-!_ ”

Elsa gave him a reassuring smile. “It's alright. And it's not that, really. It's Mary.”

“Mary?” That seemed to snap Fritz out of his funk. “What's wrong? Is she okay?”

“No...” As she spoke, Elsa returned herself to her covers. “I don't think she is.”

* * *

 _It's cold here_ , it thought.

It... thought? It thought!

Immediately, it was flooded with an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. Every iota of its being told it to escape, and so it clawed its way out in a frenzy, bursting from the void, from the womb, out into the open air...

The creature erupted from the big mound of snow and took in its surroundings. It seemed to be in an open area filled with vegetation, surrounded by walls of stone. Roughly half the plants were covered in powder, but it didn't look like natural snowfall. It looked like the snow had erupted, somehow. The creature took a cautious step forward.

The first thing in its line of sight was a group of fluffy, bright yellow birds. Could these be... its siblings? The creature eagerly dashed towards them, but before it could get close, a massive, darker-feathered bird threw itself between the creature and the goslings. The fowl released an earsplitting _quack_ that sent the creature running.

The creature didn't stop until it reached the far side of the garden. Why had that bird attacked it? Was... Was there something wrong with the creature? It scurried over to a nearby pond and gazed at its reflection.

If it had any breath, it would've caught in the creature's throat. Ice. It was made of ice. The creature looked down at its own paws, as if to confirm what the reflection showed it. Its claws were, indeed, made of ice. What did that mean? What was it? _What was it?_

The creature growled and dug its claws into a tiny brown beetle unfortunate enough to crawl into its path.

 


	10. It's Tough to Be a God

After spending over two decades in isolation, you'd think Elsa would be happy to be around other people. Lord knew Anna was. Yet somehow, Elsa found herself sitting alone in a small, dark room. It wasn't that she enjoyed being isolated, exactly, but now the tables were turned. Now being _alone_ was the rare commodity. Something told Elsa this would be her last chance to not be in the middle of a noisy crowd for a long while, and so she was savoring every second.

Inhale. Exhale. Go over her speech in her head. Elsa was in control. Today was going to be chaos, but she would impose order. All she had to do was think of her tasks in the simplest terms. Task one: Arrive at Pagania, show off magic for citizens. Task two: Talk politics, make sure Pagania and Arendelle have good relations. Persuade Pagania to spread the word to other nations that Arendelle's resident sorceress is completely harmless and benevolent. Task three: Leave Pagania as soon as humanly possible, return home to deal with Mary. There. Elsa had a plan, and so long as she stuck to it, nothing would go wrong.

“Your Majesty?” Elsa couldn't help but wince as a servant rapped on the door, breaking her last fleeting traces of peace. “We're pulling into port, ma'am.”

Elsa took one final deep breath, sat up off her mattress, smoothed her hair, conjured up a fresh ice-dress, and exited her quarters.

The instant she emerged onto the deck, Elsa had to grab the edge of the ship to keep from fainting. There was literally not an inch of empty space from the Paganian harbor to the capital city. It made Elsa's coronation look like a tea party. She tried to do a quick estimate of the number of citizens present, but all that did was leave her dizzy.

“Stay where you are, ma'am,” a nearby guard told her. “We'll have to push the crowd back before anyone can exit the ship.”

“Don't bother.” Elsa steadied herself, then walked to the head of the ship and raised an arm. “Let's give the people what they came to see.” A beam of frost shot from her palm, zooming high above the crowd's head and solidifying into a massive bridge of ice spanning from the ship to a nearby building.

Her flock of guards, servants, and diplomats seemed a bit uneasy, but they dutifully followed their queen onto the ice-bridge. By now, Elsa liked to think of herself as pretty skilled with her powers, so the bridge was more than capable of supporting everyone's weight. She'd even thought to include a rug woven from snow to keep people from slipping. Once they reached the bridge's end, Elsa conjured up some steps leading down towards a sprawling cathedral at the head of the city. Presumably, this was where Elsa was meant to go – it was the only place where the crowd was parted, and a pair of men standing at cathedral's steps, one tall and thin, the other short and fat. Judging by the elaborate gold trimmings around their white robes, these could only be the heads of the theocracy.

Elsa arrived at ground level, followed closely by her guards. As soon as the last person was off the stairs, she unfroze all the ice with a quick flick of her wrist. Then, Elsa turned to the crowd, taking in the city. Pagania's capital was a pristine metropolis with marble buildings towering over the streets, and every third one was a church. Apparently, the Paganians' purported religious devotion was no exaggeration – Many of them were dressed in thick white robes despite the harsh sunlight.

Elsa put on a practiced smile. “It's an honor to be here,” she said in a loud, clear voice.

This wasn't so bad. So what if being in the middle of an impossibly large crowd made Elsa's stomach do backflips? She was sticking to the plan. Everything would be fine. Just so long as nothing bizarre and unpredictable happened.

“Praise to our towheaded mistress of the winter!” screamed a random crowd member. In unison, every last person dropped to their knees and bowed.

“W-What?” Elsa glanced at her diplomats, but they looked just as confused as her. Something was wrong. Why would these people bow to the ruler of a foreign nation? Was this some weird Paganian custom no one had told her about?

“Brothers!” Elsa scarcely had time to ponder this before a group of white-robed men approached her guards from behind. “Have you heard the good news?” The robed men gave blinding grins as they handed out various leaflets of paper. “Here, take these informative pamphlets to help let our lady and savior into your hearts.”

“What is this?” Elsa started to step towards them, but her path was blocked by the two heads of Pagania.

“We're truly blessed with your presence, my lady.” The tall, thin man spoke in a deep, controlled voice and gave Elsa a quick bow. “I am the Archbishop of Pagania, and this is the High Priest.” He gestured towards the fat man. The two of them pushed back their hoods. The Archbishop was gray-haired and wrinkled, and his outfit was sparse of jewelry, whereas the High Priest was middle-aged, most of his head eaten up by a bald spot, and he wore a silvery seven-pointed star pendant. “My associate and I humbly ask you to join us inside the cathedral so we may speak in private.”

“Oh, o-of course.” Elsa motioned for her guards to wait outside, then followed them into the church.

Arendelle's chapel was none too shabby, but it was dwarfed by Pagania's. The cathedral's interior looked like a cross between a church and an opera house, though its countless pews were currently empty, and towering above it all was a stained glass painting of a gorgeous woman. There was no mistaking who it was supposed to be. Elsa blushed and impulsively ran her hands over her hips. They couldn't really be that size, could they?

“I don't know what to say,” she said truthfully. “Did- Did you make this just for me?”

“It's, uh, it's kinda complicated,” said the High Priest in a bouncy-yet-scratchy voice. He traded glances with the Archbishop. “Hmm, how can we break this to you gently...?”

“Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered,” said Elsa. “I'm beyond flattered... but it's too much. This is more than a warm welcome – This is _lavish_. It's- It's-” She gave the glass another incredulous look. “It's gigantic. It must have cost a fortune.”

“Nothing the tax payers couldn't cover,” said the High Priest.

“I don't feel like a visiting monarch.” Elsa let out an anxious laugh. “I feel more like the centerpiece of your religion.”

There was an uncomfortably long silence. The High Priest cleared his throat.

“No. _No_. You're joking.” Elsa stepped backwards, her eyes going wide. “Tell me this is a joke.”

“I assure you we're entirely sincere, my lady,” said the Archbishop. “Surely you must have realized that when you revealed your powers to the public, you'd spark people's faith.”

“ _No_.” Elsa's fist was clenched so hard, frost was fuming off of it. “My powers don't put me above anyone else – I refuse to believe that. I'm not a goddess.”

“Oh, nice,” snorted the High Priest, folding his arms, “what are you gonna do next, barge into the Vatican, march up to the Pope, and say you don't believe in Jesus?”

“Jesus _told_ people he was the son of God!” snapped Elsa. “I, the person you're trying to worship, am telling you _not_ to worship me!” She forced herself to take a deep breath. “Please, all I've ever wanted is to be treated like a normal person. I'm telling you, I'm not a goddess, I'm just a powerful sorceress.”

“To the people of Pagania, those are the same thing,” said the Archbishop. “Magic is the highest force in the universe. To us, there can be no greater person than one born with powerful magic.”

Elsa rubbed her temple. “Why wasn't I told about this sooner?”

“Well, if we'd told you, you wouldn't have come here,” said the High Priest.

Elsa glared at him. “How thoughtful of you.”

“We find most nations don't take too kindly to our beliefs,” said the Archbishop. “You'll forgive us if we exercised caution, my lady. Pagania has no grief with other religions, but Christianization never truly took root here.”

“We mostly took issue with the 'monotheistic' part,'” said the High Priest. “They don't call us _Pagan_ -ia for nothing.”

“Arendelle is as Christian as the rest of Europe, of course-” The Archbishop gave Elsa a pleading look. “-but we were hoping, considering its people allow it to be ruled by such a powerful magic-user, we could form an alliance anyways.”

“But do you have to worship _me?_ ” asked Elsa. “My coronation was only a couple months ago. Who did the Paganians worship before?”

“We worship anyone who holds magic,” said the Archbishop, “but it's been centuries since one as powerful as yourself has visited us in person. Judging by our records, magic has been growing increasingly rare over the generations.”

The High Priest bowed his head. “We wouldhave worshiped the Goddess of Healing, but tragically, before her magic could be revealed to the public, the source of it was sliced off by a terrible demon who seduced the goddess with a dark spell known as ' _the smolder_.'”

“When most nations heard of your eternal winter, they were terrified,” the Archbishop told Elsa, “but the Paganians were enamored. A mania gripped the land. If you were to publicly discourage worship, it'd cause outrage, and, frankly, I doubt it would do much to quell your more fanatical followers.” He met her eyes. “My lady, I beg you, please respect our beliefs. If you deny your divinity, people will see it as nothing but a sign that our nation doesn't have your support.”

Elsa slowly looked from the bishop to the priest to the stained glass window. She stayed silent for a long while. The image of a horrified mob flashed through her head, people screaming in horror as a fountain froze before their eyes... and then Elsa pictured the endless crowd at the harbor, every last person cheering as she glided across her ice-bridge.

“Alright,” she said. “Alright. I'm not going to pretend I'm a goddess, but I won't deny it, either. I'll respect your beliefs.” She gave the men one last glare. “And I don't want special treatment, understand? Don't give me anything a regular visiting monarch wouldn't receive.”

“Snow Goddess Elsa, your sacred offering is ready!” It was at this exact moment that a serving girl scurried down the pews. Elsa caught her out of the corner of her eye, then did a double-take. She had to consciously stop her jaw from dropping.

The servant was pushing a cart piled high with... with... It was almost too wonderful to comprehend. Chocolate cakes. Chocolate cookies. Chocolate ice cream. Chocolate fudge. Chocolate pudding. Chocolate sauce. Chocolate sauce over _everything_.Elsa furtively swallowed lest she start drooling on herself.

“Oh, you can throw that out,” the Archbishop told the serving girl. “The offering won't be necessary anymore. In a touching display of humility, the Snow Goddess has asked to receive no special-”

“ _Wait!_ ” Elsa hadn't been planning on saying that quite so loudly. The bishop, priest, and servant all turned towards her. “I, err, I...” Elsa could feel herself growing pink. “I don't see the harm in receiving _some_ special treatment.”

* * *

“More chocolate, Snow Goddess Elsa?”

“No, no, I couldn't. I- _Ahh_.” A sigh escaped Elsa's mouth as the servant massaged the exact spot on her shoulders that'd been aching all morning while the other one set to work massaging her feet. Elsa's ice-high heels, while highly fashionable, didn't treat her soles too well. “Well, maybe one more.” Elsa sat up in her incredibly comfortable lavender armchair to look at the servant hovering at her side. “Would you be so kind...?”

“Yes, Snow Goddess,” said the serving girl, bowing low. “Your wish is my command.”

“No, no, it's not a command!” Elsa said hurriedly. “You don't have to if you don't want to. I was just asking you politely, if you wouldn't mind, out of the goodness of your heart-”

“Did you want the ice cream or the fudge, my lady?”

“Put the ice cream over the fudge.”

“Of course, my lady.”

Elsa nodded contently, then closed her eyes and relaxed her muscles so she could continue to focus on how wonderful these massages felt. Elsa couldn't believe she'd actually thought today was going to be stressful! And she certainly wasn't taking advantage of these people. Elsa was the queen, after all. She had servants of her own back home that could give her this treatment if she asked for it. Pagania's servants just happened to be willing to do the same job, only more efficiently and with no paycheck and an unlimited supply of the most decadent chocolate Elsa had ever tasted. And she didn't say that lightly – Elsa had tasted her fair share of chocolate over the years. Besides, it wasn't like these servants even wanted a paycheck, right? They loved doting over Elsa. The chance to massage their godd- err, powerful sorceress made their day.

“Snow Goddess.” The serving girl returned with another bowl impressively quickly. She walked to Elsa's side and held out a chocolate-covered spoon.

Elsa stared at the pure, unleaded chocolatey goodness dripping off of it. Her stomach was going to kill her for saying this, but... “You know what? Why don't we save it for later? You said there's going to be a feast in a few hours, right? I don't need to spoil my appetite.”

“Yes, my lady. I'll leave it in the ice chest.”

“Don't bother.” Elsa waved a hand, causing a flurry cloud to appear over the bowl. “Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever eaten melted ice cream in my life.” Elsa knew the Paganians worshiped magic, but she hadn't been prepared to see just how awed they were at it. Elsa didn't think she'd seen anyone so entranced by such a little snow cloud since Anna was four.

 _Anna_. An unmistakable sensation bubbled in Elsa's chest. She'd only felt this way once before – during her self-imposed exile in her Ice Palace – but Elsa instantly recognized it: homesickness. Why hadn't Anna wanted to come with her? She'd be having the time of her life right now.

After another minute, Elsa motioned for her massagers to stop. “I'd like to rest until the feast. Thank you for everything – You've all been wonderful.”

The servants bowed respectfully, then exited the chambers. Elsa, naturally, had been given the most luxurious hotel room in all of Pagania. Now that she was alone, Elsa pulled down the curtains and threw herself onto a bed that was much bigger and comfier than any bed has the right to be. Oh God, this was heaven. Elsa had thought today was going to involve arguing about peace treaties. She didn't think she'd actually be allowed to sleep!

Elsa felt immensely guilty, but it was the good kind of guilty. The splurging-on-chocolate kind of guilty. It was an incredible feeling. Elsa was beyond words with happiness. She was so happy... there was... there was no reason to be crying. No reason at all.

These people... They loved her magic. They loved her magic. All those years, this was the kind of thing Elsa had never even dared to dream about. It was surreal. It was... too much...

“Hello?” Without warning, the door swung open. Elsa barely had time to wipe her eyes before Fritz entered the suite. “Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your sleep, my l- err, Elsa!” Even in the dimness, Fritz looked bright red. “I was just checking on you.”

“That's perfectly fine, Fritz.” Elsa smiled at him. “You're not just my servant – You're my friend.”

Fritz smiled back. “Yeah...” He stood there smiling and staring at Elsa for a bit longer than he probably should have.

“Well, today's certainly been a surprise, hasn't it?” Elsa chuckled to herself. “Magic or not, I can't believe these people honestly see me as a goddess. I've always felt so human.”

“Yeah. You, a goddess? That would be... ridiculous.” Fritz gave a stilted laugh.

“Of course, there are some downsides.” As she spoke, Elsa found herself staring off into space. “Not every country is as kind to magic as Pagania. When other nations find out I'm worshiped here, they'll probably assume I'm some sort of narcissistic dictator.” She let out a sigh. “Anyways, it's been considerably nicer here than I'd expected, but I'd still like to go home as soon as possible. We'll leave tomorrow once the negotiations with Pagania have been set in stone and the crew's had time to rest.”

Suddenly, Elsa's eyes flitted towards something jutting out Fritz's pants pocket. “Fritz? Is... Is that an informative pamphlet?”

Boiling hot blood pumped through every every inch of Fritz's face. “Oh, look at that!” He made a show of pulling the pamphlet out of his pocket like this was the first he'd seen of it. Elsa couldn't get a good look at it in the darkness, but it appeared to include an illustration of herself coupled with words like “peace in the afterlife” and “tax exemption.” “One of those cult guys handed it to me and I was too polite to throw it away but it's really stupid and I don't believe a word of it so I'm just going to go toss it in the trash bye!”

The door closed behind him before Elsa could reply. She stared at the empty space where he'd stood a second ago. Fritz was a good kid, but sometimes Elsa wondered about him.

* * *

As soon as he was safely out of Elsa's sight, Fritz smoothed the creases in the pamphlet and carefully returned it to his pocket. Today had been the most amazing day of his life. It was like all of a sudden, the entire world made sense.

 


	11. Schemes

Gerda caught herself halfway through the doorway of the queen's bedroom. There wasn't much point coming in here, was there? Queen Elsa was off in Pagania – Gerda doubted anyone had been in her room all week. Gerda had only come in out of habit. For the last nineteen years, she'd stuck to her routine of scouring the clothes off Anna's bedroom floor, then coming straight to Elsa's room to collect her neatly-folded pile. But it'd been months since Queen Elsa had left Gerda any laundry.

She couldn't help but find this troubling. Yes, Queen Elsa's dress was magically woven from ice, but ice got stinky and sweaty, too, didn't it? Of course, there was nothing stopping Queen Elsa from simply erasing the dress and conjuring a fresh one, but that was even more troubling. When Elsa erased the old dress, did the stink and sweat get erased with it? If not, where did all that filth go? Did it fall to the floor? Was Queen Elsa leaving piles of filth at her feet every time she spawned a new dress?

Why had Queen Elsa decided to wear ice in the first place? She ran into the wilderness and scaled an entire mountain on foot, and her first impulse upon reaching the peak was to make herself a skimpier outfit? Ugh, kids these days...

 _Wait_. Gerda halted mid-thought. Now that she took a closer look at it, Gerda could plainly see that Elsa's room wasn't untouched after all. The bed was unmade. No, not unmade... It looked like the sheet had been dragged off, and – Gerda gave a start – It was torn! Shredded to pieces!

Next Gerda spotted a lantern lying on its side beneath some jagged gashes in the wallpaper. Those couldn't be claw marks, could they? No, no, that was impossible. There hadn't been a wild animal in the castle since Anna was twelve.

Gerda took a deep breath. There was nothing to panic about. A squirrel had probably just climbed in through the window and gotten trapped, that was all. A harmless little squirrel.

All of a sudden, a low growl hit Gerda's ears from behind. Gerda froze, eyes going wide, and slowly turned around.

“ _R_ _aaaaarwr!_ ”

“ _A_ _aaaaaaagh!_ ”

* * *

If any game required quiet contemplation and well-planned strategy, Anna was a master at it. You'd never think it just by looking at her, but years trapped inside a gigantic, empty castle had turned Anna into the greatest chess player in all of Arendelle.

“Bam! My pawn took down your rook! Now it levels up into the shining white mage queen and gets three attacks per round!”

She'd even made some improvements to the game.

“Alright, your turn, Mary.” Anna was currently sitting in a chair at Mary's bedside. The chess board was set at the edge of the mattress, which Mary was sprawled across theatrically. She was starting to look more like a noodle than a snowwoman. “Mary? C'mon, it's your turn.”

Mary gave her a sullen look.

Anna let out a resigned sigh. “Okay, fine, I'll move for you.”

Anna examined the board and frowned. Suddenly, she pointed behind Mary, yelled, “Whoa, check out the size of that spider!” and hurriedly rearranged some pieces. It would've been the perfect crime if Mary had actually turned around. “Whoops, look at that, I left my king wide open. All you've got to do is move _here_ and it's checkmate.”

Mary remained limp.

“ _Come_ _on_ , Mary!” Anna threw her hands in the air. “You've got to stop being angsty _eventually!_ ”

“Sounds like someone's having fun.” Just then, the door swung open.

“Kristoff!” Anna hopped up and zoomed across the room to give her boyfriend a big smack on the lips. “You're back early!”

“Yeah, there wasn't much ice to deliver.” Kristoff's eyes fell on a certain floppy snowwoman. “What's up with Mary?”

“Oh, right. Uh... Let's step outside for a sec.” Anna took Kristoff's hand and led him into the hallway.

Once Mary was safely out of earshot, Anna said, “Okay, here's the rundown: When she learned Elsa had to go to Pagania, Mary freaked out and they had a fight and Mary got upset and locked herself in her room – or at least we thought she had – and Elsa didn't talk to her for days and Mary never left her room and _I_ wanted to jimmy the lock and drag her out of there, but did Elsa listen to me? _Nooooooo_. So then Olaf finally picked the lock and it turned out Mary wasn't there! She'd climbed out a window and run away, so then Elsa had the guards track her down, but there was nothing left of her but an eyeball!”

“ _What?_ ”

“We think Mary tried to melt herself, and not because she really likes summer, y'know what I'm saying?”

“You mean she's suicidal?”

Anna bowed her head. “Maybe. We're not sure. And it's made Elsa even more upset, but then she had to sail off to Pogogo or wherever, so it's up to me to make Mary stop being depressed, and I don't know what to do! She was starting to open up to me at first, but Elsa's been gone so long that Mary's pretty much catatonic now.”

“Hmm...” Kristoff brought a hand to his forehead. “A suicidal snowman? Well, keep her away from ovens and fireplaces and she'll be fine.”

“ _Kristoff._ ”

“I'm serious! How else are snowmen supposed to kill themselves?”

Anna opened her mouth, but her retort was cut off by an earsplitting shriek.

“What was that?” The couple dashed into Elsa's bedroom to find Gerda standing on a chair next to an overturned laundry basket. The old maid was trembling so hard, she looked like she might faint any second now.

“Monster! Monster!” Gerda shrieked. “I could've died! I could've-”

“Gerda, calm down!” said Anna, running to her side. “What's going on? What monster?”

Gerda threw her arms around Anna, breathing heavily. “I saw it out the corner of my eye! It was as big as a dog with claws and teeth and- and it did _that!_ ” She pointed to the wallpaper, which had been sliced full of gashes.

“Hmm...” Kristoff knelt down to examine the claw marks. “Looks a lot smaller than a dog, actually. Maybe some kind of lemming?”

“It was no normal animal!” said Gerda. “It was pale and shiny like a phantom. Nearly took a chunk outta me. Ran out the door right before you two got here.”

“Whoa. You hear that, Kristoff? There's a monster loose in the castle.” Anna's face lit up. “That's awesome!” She grabbed his arm. “Come on! It couldn't have gone far!”

“We'd better alert the guards,” said Kristoff. “I'm sure they can catch this thing.”

“Right, right, we could do that,” nodded Anna. “ _Or_ we could catch it ourselves. Let's go!”

“What? Why should we catch it ourselves?”

“What part of 'awesome' don't you understand?”

“An albino lemming got into the castle,” said Kristoff flatly. “Yeah, _real_ awesome.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Ugh, that's got to be the lamest thing you could possibly come up with. Haven't you read any _Nansina Drude_ books? This could be a werewolf or a shadow boar or a troll-”

Kristoff gave her a look.

“A friendly troll who got lost!” Anna quickly added. “The point is, the proper authorities are always useless in mystery novels. The monster's got to be caught by a group of teenagers with a wacky animal sidekick.”

“You know I'm in my twenties, right?” said Kristoff. “And where are we supposed to find a wacky animal, anyways?”

* * *

“Do I _have_ to get involved?” groaned the voice of Sven.

Anna had gathered Kristoff, Mary, Olaf, and Sven into the castle entrance hall. They were the perfect team: the blonde leader guy, his hot girlfriend, the glasses-wearing smart girl, and the useless goofball with an animal friend.

“Oh, come on, Sven!” Anna retrieved a delectable orange vegetable from her pocket. “Would you do it for a carrot?” She dangled it before his nose enticingly.

Apparently, there were no depths to which Sven wouldn't sink for a carrot snack.

Kristoff grumbled and shifted his weight. “Remind me why I'm carrying her again.” He glared at Mary, who was hanging limply in his arms, a dead look in her eyes.

“Because Mary needs to feel included,” said Anna. “And she wasn't gonna get out of bed if we didn't drag her.”

“But why do _I_ have to carry her?”

“She's made of ice. Carrying ice is your job.”

“Wow, for you, that's downright sensible.”

“I can't wait to find the monster!” Olaf bounced in place with excitement. “I bet it's one of those phantoms I've been looking for.” He turned to Kristoff. “And it's great that Sven could be here, too. I didn't think wild animals were allowed in the castle.”

“Sven's not wild – He's domestic,” said Kristoff. “If he was wild, he'd be a caribou.”

“Really?” Olaf gave Sven an incredulous look, like he might morph into a caribou on the spot. “Gee, who knew science was so powerful?”

“Alright, 'gang-'” Kristoff made a point of rolling his eyes. “-let's split up and search for clues.”

“That sounds boring,” said Anna. “I've got a better idea! Let's build a trap to catch the monster! We can use Olaf and Sven as bait.”

“Sure,” said Kristoff, bringing his face to his palm. “Why the heck not?” Kristoff never really tried to fight back against the insanity anymore. He'd given up around the time he started dating it.

* * *

“Okay, here's the plan.”

Half an hour later, Anna and Kristoff were standing in one of the castle's numerous nondescript hallways. Mary was still in Kristoff's arms, looking as lifeless and dejected as ever.

“When the monster chases Olaf and Sven this way, it'll break this tripwire-” Anna pointed to the near-invisible wire she'd strung across the middle of the hall. “-which will activate this pulley, which will make this suit of armor swing its ax-” She pointed to the pulley and ax in turn. “-which will break this rope and make this big crate fall on the monster, trapping it. It's foolproof!” Anna overlooked her work proudly.

“Yeah, rock solid plan you've got there,” said Kristoff, “but, y'know, as a general rule of thumb, the more parts there are, the less likely a plan is to-”

“Shh! Hold that thought.” Anna spun towards the empty hallway. “I hear them coming!”

A second later, Olaf dashed towards them on the back of Sven. It was moving too fast to make out, but there was definitely something small and shiny in hot pursuit. Sven's hooves trampled the tripwire. There was a blur of pulleys spinning and axes swinging and ropes snapping, and when the chaos died down, the crate had plopped itself firmly on the carpet. A distinct banging and hissing was coming from within.

“It worked.” Every last drop of snark had evaporated from Kristoff's voice. He stared at the crate, his jaw hanging open. “It- It- That doesn't-”

“Ha _ha!_ Flawless victory!” Anna skipped over to the crate to claim her prize.

Kristoff was paralyzed with shock. That didn't- She couldn't- Oh God. _Oh God._ Anna's twisted imagination was spilling out and contaminating the real world now. Soon all of reality would be as crazy as she was. Kristoff felt weak at the knees just thinking about it.

“Ooh! Ooh! What is it?” asked Olaf, hopping off Sven's back. “Please be a phantom, please be a phantom, please be a...”

“It's...” Slowly, cautiously, Anna lifted up the crate to peek inside. “It's...” She gasped.

“What? What is it?” asked a concerned Kristoff.

“ _I_ _t's adorable!_ _I_ _'_ _m keeping it!_ ”

Kristoff let out a self-pitying groan and locked eyes with Mary. Now he knew how she felt.

* * *

As anyone who knew their geography would tell you, Pagania was located on the coast of Northern Europe, west of Arendelle and south of the Southern Isles. Only the most illiterate of illiterates would struggle to find it on a map. Pagania didn't exactly have a tropical climate, but it rarely saw snow before December – maybe late November if it was a particularly cold year. The Paganians definitely weren't used to seeing snow in in the middle of April.

Elsa walked through the clean, marble streets of Pagania, pushing past adoring citizens and flurries of snowflakes. She could hardly keep from grinning. Finally, some people who _appreciated_ having their country covered in snow! Elsa had never intentionally used her magic over such a large area before, but something about the Paganians' enthusiasm had emboldened her. There was nothing to worry about, though – Elsa was keeping things at a light dusting. Just enough for children to have something to play in.

Elsa and her procession of guards marched into the cathedral. A couple flights of stairs from the entrance was an enormous dining hall holding an equally enormous table, which was packed to the brim with nothing but the finest of Paganian meats, fruits, and, of course, chocolate. Elsa's stomach growled. A lesser goddess would've been sick of chocolate by now.

The next several hours were spent eating and talking and being lavished with praise. Elsa could hardly go two minutes without being asked to show off her magic. The Paganians never got tired of it, and the tiniest of snowballs was enough to illicit applause. It was incredible.

It was as she was making her dozenth ice-sculpture for the crowd that a thought struck Elsa – Why hadn't her parents let her visit here when she was little? Well, Elsa supposed the Paganians wouldn't have been as welcoming if her powers were out of control, but on the other hand, if Elsa had known there were people out there who loved her magic so much, wouldn't that have helped her learn control?

Somehow, Elsa found herself sobering (Not literally. She'd wisely declined the Paganians' numerous offerings of wine). Elsa turned to the Archbishop. He was seated to her left, while the High Priest was seated to her right. “Excuse me?”

“Yes, Snow Goddess?” asked the Archbishop.

“Were my parents aware Pagania would worship me?”

“I'm afraid I don't know, my lady.”

“Well, even if they were, they probably weren't comfortable with me traveling.” Elsa said this more to herself than to him. After a moment, she forced her mind back to the present. “At any rate, being here has been a pleasure, but I need to return to Arendelle soon. Is now a good time to discuss some political matters?”

“Of course, my lady.”

“Yeah, great idea, Your Excellency.” The High Priest noisily swallowed his chicken leg, licked the juice off his fingers, then said, “First things first, when's your birthday?”

“The day of the winter solstice,” said Elsa. “Why?”

“Great, great,” nodded the High Priest. “That means we should get plenty of snow when we celebrate Elsamas.”

“Elsamas?” Elsa laughed. “You're giving me my own holiday?”

“Exactly. And when was your sister born?”

“On the summer solstice.”

The High Priest blinked in surprise. “Really? Huh, what are the odds? Guess that'll make our Elsamas and Annaster celebrations nice and symmetrical.”

Elsa laughed again. “Oh, are you worshiping Anna, too? She'll be thrilled to hear it.”

“Well, of course we worship her.” The High Priest reached into his robes and retrieved a thick, leather-bound book. “Says it right here in the holy scripture.” He flipped through the pages, then read aloud: “ _And let the highest praises fall upon the Snow Goddess and her sister-wife_.”

Elsa sprang to her feet. “My _what_ _?_ ”

“Sister-wife,” said the High Priest. “Why, is there a problem?”

“ _I_ _'m not married to my sister!_ ”

“Yes.” The High Priest bowed his head solemnly. “Many of the events foretold by the prophecy have yet to come to pass.”

“Who wrote this scripture?” demanded Elsa.

“Uh, the holy spirits guided my hand-”

“Give me that!”

The High Priest had no choice but to obey his goddess's command.

Elsa skimmed through the holy book. The more she read, the deeper her scowl grew. “ _At the eve of her coronation, the Snow Goddess was seduced by_ _the wiles and charms of_ _a_ _dashing_ _prince_.” She looked up from the page. “Anna was the one engaged to Hans! I barely even met him.”

“M-My deepest apologies!” squeaked the High Priest. “Information travels slowly overseas, so we had to rely on word of mouth-”

“Go fetch a pen and paper.” Elsa dropped the holy book onto the table with a dramatic _thud_. “Your goddess is adding a new testament to the canon.”

* * *

“...don't know any 'Jack Frost,' and I sincerely doubt Anna's about to develop fire powers any time soon. Does that about cover everything?”

As Elsa finished speaking, the High Priest set down his pen and looked over his notes. “Err, yes, Snow Goddess. This should be more than enough to compose the new scripture.”

“Good. Now let's put this nonsense behind us and focus on the important issues.” Elsa turned back to the Archbishop. “Your message said you wished to become trade partners with Arendelle.”

“Well, that was putting it mildly.” The Archbishop chuckled to himself. “It would be more accurate to say Pagania is completely submitting itself to you. Consider all of our resources yours.”

“What?” Elsa gave a start. “No, I can't accept that. I have enough responsibility running Arendelle at its current size. I'm not looking to expand it.”

The Archbishop shook his head. “You misunderstand, my lady. Pagania wishes to remain independent of Arendelle. We don't worship your kingdom – We worship _you_. In fact, we've been a bit concerned that you'll be forced off the throne. Not every nation is as kind to magic as Pagania. Prince Hans already tried to frame you for treason, didn't he?”

Elsa reluctantly nodded. That wasn't a memory she was anxious to revisit.

“If something were ever to happen, you know we'd be happy to have you in Pagania.”

“That's very kind of you, but Arendelle is my home,” said Elsa, “and my citizens have been more accepting of me than I'd expected. As for 'submitting yourselves' to me, you have my word that I won't take advantage of your hospitality. If you're leaving the decision making up to me, I promise I'll work out some trade terms that benefit both Arendelle and Pagania equally. I hope this can be the start of a long partnership.”

The Archbishop smiled and bowed respectfully. “All we ask for in return is the goodwill of our goddess.”

Elsa smiled back. “You have it. Now if you'll excuse me, the feast seems to be winding down.” She rose to her feet. “It's been a pleasure, but I need to gather my men together. We're sailing home soon.”

“Snow Goddess, wait! You're leaving already?” It was at these words that a little girl ran up and threw her arms around Elsa's waist. She couldn't be older than six, yet she wore the same white robes as the other church members.

“Child!” snapped the Archbishop, rising out of his seat. “It's not your place to put your hands on the goddess without permission!”

“It's alright.” Elsa knelt down to pat the girl's head. “What's your name?”

“Freja.” The girl gave Elsa puppy dog eyes that could put Mary's to shame. “Do you have to leave, Snow Goddess?”

“I can't stay here forever,” Elsa said softly. “I need to go home.”

“But if you leave, who's going to protect us?”

Elsa looked blank. “Protect you? From what?”

“From the Clovisians.”

Suddenly, every single partygoer went deathly quiet.

“Ah! Don't listen to her!” The High Priest sprang to his feet and ran towards them, waving his arms frantically. “She's just a dumb kid! She doesn't know what she's talking about!”

Elsa's brow creased. “No, I'd like to hear this.” She turned back to Freja. “What were you saying, dear?”

“The Clovisians are our neighbors,” said Freja. “They live south of us in Clovisia.”

“Wow, you're good at geography.” Elsa gave her a reassuring smile. “And why do I need to protect you from them?”

“Because the Clovisians want to kill us all for being disgusting Christless scum,” said Freja, matter-of-fact. “But we'll be okay because you're supposed to freeze them for us.”

“I see.” Elsa looked over the banquet-table. Every single Paganian was avoiding her gaze and looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Well, Freja, I'm sorry to hear the Clovisians want to kill you, but I don't use my magic to hurt people. What made you think I would?”

“That guy said so.” Freja pointed to the Archbishop, who didn't look quite as stoic as usual.

Elsa's eyes fell on the Archbishop. “All you ask for in return is the goodwill of your goddess, huh?”

The Archbishop had gone deathly pale. His mouth was running even faster than the sweat dripping down his forehead. “My lady, the child misunderstands! You have my word, I meant no offensive, and I would never be so presumptuous as to assume you'd set yourself upon our enemies! What I told the public was that once Pagania placed itself in your good graces, you'd _likely_ want to protect us from our enemies. We had heard that you were a kind, caring goddess. That's all, I swear on my life!”

Elsa raised an eyebrow, then turned back to Freja.

“He said you would launch a preemptive strike,” said Freja. “Do you know what 'preemptive' means? That's when you attack the enemy before they can fight back.”

“You're a smart girl.” Elsa gave Freja another pat on the head, then raised herself to her full stature and walked towards the bishop and priest. “I realize there's been a great deal of misinformation going around about my powers, so let me make something clear-”

“My lady, please, I can explain-”

Elsa stopped inches from the Archbishop's face. “I _do not_ hurt people with my magic. Not unless I absolutely have to. Has Clovisia declared war on Pagania? Will they be at your doorstep with an army any day now?”

“Well...” The Archbishop stared at his sandals. “No, my lady. They haven't launched an outright attack on us yet. But the Clovisians are a constant potential threat to our people! If they ever did decide to march on our border, our military would be hilariously outmatched!”

“Well then, if that ever happens, send me a message and I'll see what I can do,” said Elsa tightly. “I'm not attacking anyone 'preemptively.'”

“Now wait just a tick!” spoke up the High Priest. “Who says you have to attack anyone? Why can't you just swoop in there and take the King of Clovisia and all his generals prisoner? Or at least scare them so bad that they'll never lay a finger on us?”

Elsa turned to scowl at him. “You're asking me to march into Clovisia unprovoked and start shooting ice at people? Even if I didn't hurt anyone, it'd still be fearmongering.”

It was at this point that the Archbishop threw himself at Elsa's feet, bowing low. “You're right, Snow Goddess. Your words are truth, and we flawed mortals have no place defying your wishes. Please forgive us!” Every other Paganian in the room quickly followed suit. Even Freja bowed respectfully, which Elsa couldn't help but find disturbing.

She forced herself to take some deep breaths. “The people of Pagania see me as their goddess. I respect that. But that does _no_ _t_ make me your _weapon_.” Elsa spun towards the end of table where her guards were seated. “Come on,” she said curtly, “we're going to the ship _now_.”

And with that, the Arendellians marched up the stairs and out the cathedral. For several long minutes, the entire banquet hall sat in terrified silence.

“Not to worry, everyone!” the High Priest said brightly. “I'm sure the Snow Goddess will visit us again soon. She's probably just anxious to get back to her sister-wife.”

“Didn't you take in a word she said?” snapped the Archbishop. “The Snow Goddess has no interest in marrying her own sister!”

“Yes, that is true,” nodded the High Priest, “in the scripture of _orthodox_ Elsianity. In _protestant_ Elsianity, on the other hand...”

 


	12. A Teeny Slip-Up

Elsa leaned over the ship's railing, struggling to hold down her lunch. After her second week of sailing, she'd finally gathered the courage to leave her quarters. Elsa watched Arendelle grow on the horizon at a painfully slow rate. She had to stop herself from hopping over the side, freezing the water, and sprinting for it.

“Are you sure you're alright, Your Majesty?” Fritz was, as always, hovering by Elsa's shoulder.

“I'm fine, Fritz.” Elsa chuckled to herself. “I think I've had enough worship for one lifetime. I never thought being treated like a queen could make me feel _less_ narcissistic. Let's hope 'Elsianity' doesn't spread to here. I swear some of the guards called me 'the Snow Goddess' when they thought I couldn't hear. ”

“What? Ha! Those crazy guards! Worshiping you is such a dumb idea! Only idiots would do it!” Fritz laughed for a long, long time.

Elsa stared at him.

“We, uh...” Fritz cleared his throat. “We're almost to port. I'd better go get your luggage.” He scurried off without another word.

* * *

In the middle of Anna's bedroom sat a sturdy wooden box turned face-down. It hadn't moved from its spot on the rug all week, save for the occasional wobble. Slowly, steadily, a pair of red pigtails attached to a princess stuck itself out from behind it. Anna reached a hand for the bottom of the crate, while in the other she held out a carrot.

“Hey, little guy, you hungry?” She lifted up the box-

“ _R_ _aaaaaa_ _r_ _wr!_ ”

-and then immediately dropped it back.

“You know snowmen don't actually _get_ hungry, right?” said a voice from behind her. Anna spun around to find Kristoff slouched against the wall, arms folded.

“I'm trying to make him a peace offering,” said Anna. “The poor guy's probably just cranky. Are you sure we can't let him out?”

“Something tells me that wouldn't be the best idea for our long-term welfare,” said Kristoff.

“Well, maybe if we stopped acting scared of him, he wouldn't be so-”

“Scared of who?” said a second voice.

Anna spun around yet again. Her face lit up. “Elsa! You're back early!” She zoomed out the doorway to tackle her sister. “How was the boring political stuff?”

“It was... something, all right,” said Elsa, returning the hug. “I'll tell you about it later. How's Mary-?” She was cut off by a low growl. Elsa's eyes shot towards the crate. “What's in there? Tell me it's not a wolf cub.”

“Don't worry, I learned my lesson about those.” Anna ended the hug and made for the box. “This is something way cooler. We found this guy running around the castle right after you left.”

“You might want to make an ice-pen around it before we let him out,” said Kristoff.

Elsa complied, and then Anna reached over the side of the pen to lift up the crate.

“ _R_ _awr_ _!_ ” Where the box once stood, there was now a great, big, feral, bloodthirsty snowrabbit.

“ _Sussebassen?_ ” Elsa stumbled backwards in shock.

The little icy creature charged towards the ice-wall, hissing and baring his claws, but try as he might, he couldn't escape.

“Wait, you know this thing?” Anna frowned.

“It- It looks like one of my childhood toys.” Elsa examined the creature closely. While its body shape and movement were more akin to a real rabbit, the creature had details unmistakably based on her old stuffed bunny. Its snowy fur was even matted and frozen together in the exact same patterns. The snowrabbit seemed to have been made from the same formula as Elsa's snowbirds – a body of magically-flexible ice in the shape of the animal, complete with icy eyes, claws, and feathers – or in this case, fur – woven from snow. There was even a personal flurry hovering over the snowrabbit's head. At this point, Elsa's subconscious knew to add those to all her new snowmen to avoid another “Olaf situation.”

“Remember when you flipped out in the garden?” said Anna. “You must've made him then.”

“Yeah, looks like you're still bringing snowmen to life by accident,” said Kristoff. “That's not good.”

Elsa bowed her head, her brow creasing. “Just when I think my powers are completely under control...”

Anna put a reassuring hand on Elsa's arm. “It's only a teeny slip-up. Not exactly an eternal winter, right? I mean, look at this widdle guy. He's so cu-” Anna started to stick her other hand in the pen, but she had to quickly retract it lest she lose a finger.

Sussebassen snorted and bared his claws, as if daring Anna to try that again.

“Were all your childhood toys this bloodthirsty?” deadpanned Kristoff.

Elsa's face reddened. “He's supposed to be a... a bad bunny. Any time I displeased our parents, it was Sussebassen's fault.”

Anna snickered. “Whoa, you were a sadistic little kid.” She counted off on her fingers. “Hmm, so Olaf was a non-alive snowman, Mary was an imaginary friend, and Sussebassen was a stuffed animal.” A thought struck her. “Hey, do you still have that old toy?”

“I played with it so much, some of my magic rubbed off on it somehow,” said Elsa. “It ended up covered in frost that wouldn't melt. When I outgrew it, our parents threw it out. They didn't want you finding it and asking questions.”

“Ah, of course.” Anna made a sour face at the mention of that particular time in their lives. “Well, can you get him to calm down? Sussebassen doesn't need to be caged up all the time.”

Elsa turned towards the cage. There were bits of fluffy snow dribbling out Sussebassen's gums, like he was foaming at the mouth. “I'm not sure he can understand us. That's odd. I've never made such an... animalistic snowman before.”

“I bet he's a big softie inside like Marshmallow.” Anna leaned over the side of the pen, waving the carrot above Sussebassen's head.

“I'm not sure you should-” Elsa was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. She turned to find yet another person coming towards them from down the hall. “Mary!” Elsa ran to give the snowwoman a hug, though Mary didn't return the gesture. She stood stock-straight, her eyes unblinking.

“Whoa, I don't think I've seen her leave her room on her own all week,” said Kristoff.

Elsa gave Mary a concerned look. “You haven't left your room all week?”

Mary ignored her, fixing her gaze at the ice-pen. For the first time, Sussebassen seemed to ease up. His icy eyes locked on Mary's. “You brought another snowman to life by accident,” said Mary, her voice a near-monotone.

Elsa bowed her head. “Looks like it.”

“Is this going to happen every time you get upset?” Mary pointed to Sussebassen. “Look at him, Elsa. He's every bit as purposeless and unhappy as I am. You said it yourself, your magic is making people out of thin air just so you can hurt them. When is it going to stop, Elsa? How many more snowmen are you going to make like this? Five? Ten? A hundred?”

Elsa clenched her fists. “Zero. So long as my emotions are under control, this won't happen again.”

“That's what you said last time.”

“We're not discussing this!” snapped Elsa. “Just because I made you by accident doesn't mean you can't be happy. You're making _yourself_ miserable!”

Mary scowled. “You're saying there's something wrong with me?”

“No, I-”

“ _Anna, wait-!_ ”

Suddenly, Elsa and Mary's heads shot towards the bedroom. Anna had climbed halfway into the ice-pen, cheerfully ignoring Kristoff's shouts.

“Elsa's snowmen do _not_ have to be miserable all the time.” Anna extended her carrot towards the beast. “See, Mary, all Sussebassen needs is a little kindness. Who's a cute widdle bunny? Who's a-?”

Sussebassen proceeded to slash Anna's arm from wrist to elbow.

The others cried out in horror, but all that escaped Anna's mouth was a faint, “Oh, he got me.” She dropped the carrot and gripped her arm. Her fingertips were painted red. Anna turned back to the group. “Don't worry, it's just a little scr-”

Anna couldn't say much else because the next instant, her ears were filled with a howling blizzard. For several long seconds, the bedroom was solid white, and when the wind died down, Sussebassen was slumped against the back wall, eyes closed, surrounded by the tattered remains of the ice-pen.

Anna turned her head in time to watch her sister wave her arms again. There was a burst of blue light, then a squealing sound as Sussebassen flailed helplessly before finally going limp. Anna required a moment to gape. Elsa's face looked nearly as feral as Sussebassen's.

“Um, Elsa-” Before Anna could finish, Elsa flicked her wrist, causing Anna to yelp and clutch her arm. The wound had been sealed by a thin layer of ice. “Whoa, ice-bandage. That's handy. Thanks.”

Elsa immediately ran to her side. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah – _ahh_ _–_ I'm fine.” It was at this point that the pain decided to kick in. Anna made an effort to look normal. “It's just a scratch, Elsa. Trust me, I've had way worse.”

In a split-second, Elsa switched from worried to furious. “What were you _thinking?_ ”

“Oh, you're right, I nearly lost an arm there,” said Anna, rolling her eyes. “I can see the headlines now: Nation mourns tragic loss of princess. Cause of death – homicidal rabbit.”

“I take it you _wanted_ it to scratch you?” said Kristoff. “Because I don't know any other reason you could possibly think petting it was a good idea.”

“I- I-” Anna looked back and forth from Kristoff to Elsa, her cheeks gaining color. “I was trying to show Mary that snowmen don't have to be unhappy all the time. I thought if I could get Sussebassen to calm down and act a bit nicer...”

Elsa gave a patient smile and patted Anna's shoulder. “Well then, your heart's in the right place, but your methods could use some work. Now don't scare me like that again.”

“Hey, Elsa?” Kristoff walked over to poke Sussebassen's limp form. “Is your ice-rabbit knocked out or what?”

“I think I did something to him. Here, let me see if I can-” Suddenly, a beam of blue light shot from Elsa's hand and struck Sussebassen once again. The rabbit's eyes shot open. Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff impulsively backed away, but Sussebassen stayed in place. He didn't snarl, he didn't lunge – It was almost like he didn't even want to draw blood. The trio exchanged glances.

“I guess he's calmed down?” As Kristoff spoke, Sussebassen hopped up to him and snuggled his leg.

“Aww, he's friendly now!” This time, Sussebassen allowed Anna to scoop him up in her arms and stroke his ears. “Oh, I bet I know what happened. When Elsa zapped him, she fixed his brain. Now he's cute and cuddly like he should be.”

“I- I _what?_ ” From the way Elsa stared at him, you'd think Sussebassen was still a vicious monster. “I didn't mean to! I was only trying to keep him away from you! Maybe I can turn him back?”

Anna gave her a look. “Uh, why?”

“I can't tamper with my snowmen's minds like that!”

“It doesn't sound like you hurt him,” said Kristoff. “If anything, you made Sussebassen happier. You accidentally made him feral in the first place, so who says you can't accidentally make him friendly?”

“Well...” Elsa's eyes met the floor. “So long as it was just an accident...”

“Great! Thanks, Elsa! Now I've got an awesome new pet!” Anna was about to waltz out the door with Sussebassen in tow, but Elsa halted her.

“Why doesn't Sussebassen stay on the North Mountain for now?” Elsa said sternly.

“Why?”

“He should meet his siblings.”

“But-” Before Anna could protest, Elsa snatched Sussebassen out of her hands.

Elsa liked to think her powers were under control, but she hated to admit that she still sometimes had a slight tendency to accidentally bring snowmen to life. Mary wasn't the only one Elsa had created during their last adventure. There were the Mini-Marshmallows, a whole flock of snowbirds... The Ice Palace had actually run out of space, so Elsa had been forced to create an entire town of ice further down the North Mountain just to house them all.

“We'll talk about this later.” Elsa turned to Kristoff. “Take Anna to the infirmary, please. Make sure she gets her arm bandaged up before the ice melts.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Kristoff looked just as confused as Anna, but he obediently led her out the room.

As soon as they were gone, Elsa shut the bedroom door behind them and set to work erasing the shattered ice-pen from off the carpet.

“I didn't mean to alter Sussebassen's mind.” It wasn't clear if Elsa was talking to Mary or to herself. “I didn't mean to...”

“This changes things.” Mary's eyes no longer looked dead. There was something like eagerness in them. “This proves that you _can_ alter your snowmen's minds, even if you don't want to.”

“It was only an animal.” The more she spoke, the more it sounded like Elsa was talking to herself. “If I'd done that to a person, it would've been different.”

“No, it wouldn't have.” Mary grabbed Elsa's arm. Elsa flinched, but she didn't struggle against Mary's grip. “Don't you see, Elsa? This is the answer.”

“No it's not.”

“Do what you did to Sussebassen to me! Make me happy.”

“ _No._ ”

“If there's something wrong with me, then fix it! You're my creator. Isn't that your job?”

Elsa shook her head, her eyes clamping shut. “I can't.”

Mary's grip tightened. “Why not?”

“Don't you see what I did?” Elsa's wasn't one to raise her voice, but Mary was getting her there. “I broke Sussebassen's mind and put it back together. If I did that to you, it would be like I'd killed you and made a new snowman.”

“What difference does it make?” scoffed Mary.

“I don't want anyone else!” snapped Elsa. “I want the little girl who spends hours in the library! I want the little girl who plays in the mud with Olaf and then runs around naked because she doesn't know any better! I want the little girl who-” Her voice broke. “-who keeps losing her shoes. I- I-” She buried her face in Mary's shoulders. “I want _you_.”

Surprise had overtaken Mary's eyes... but after a moment, they narrowed. “ _No._ ” Mary wrenched herself free and marched towards the door. “I won't be your decoration again. I'm not a phantom. I need more from life. I need purpose. Something has to change.”

The door slammed shut. Elsa was left alone in the bedroom, standing in absolute silence save for the soft sound of sniffling.

* * *

As soon as she'd handed Sussebassen off to a guard to deliver to the North Mountain, Elsa slinked into her room and threw herself onto her bed without so much as slipping off her heels. Her head was pounding, her throat ached, and overall she didn't want to be awake right now. How could she have been so stupid? The entire voyage, Elsa had been painting this idyllic scene in her head: When she finally returned home, she and Mary would have a tearful reunion, Elsa would say all the right words, and then Mary would apologize, go back to living happily as Elsa's daughter, and never ask to be erased again.

But instead, Elsa had screamed at Mary and guilt-tripped her, which had only made Mary more stubborn than ever. Elsa rolled over above the covers, clutching her forehead. She'd ruined everything. How could she have let Mary reach this point? What had Elsa done wrong? If her parents had been here...

Elsa hadn't been in the best mood before, but the thought of her parents didn't exactly improve it. Yes, they'd made mistakes, but Elsa had loved them. She'd loved them in a way she didn't love anyone else, and... and all she wanted was for Mary to have that love, too. Why had Elsa ever thought she could do this? She was barely able to keep herself happy, let alone a whole other person.

Assuming Mary even _was_ a person. Now more than ever, Elsa couldn't help but wonder... what if Mary was nothing but Elsa's depression given life? The result of years of isolation? What if Mary, by nature, _couldn't_ be happy, the same way Olaf couldn't be unhappy?

_Your magic is making people out of thin air just so you can hurt them._

Elsa loved her magic, loved that she could create anything she could imagine, but why did that have to include life? The Paganians had to be wrong. Elsa wasn't a goddess! She wasn't! She...

Her stomach tightened. No matter how hard she tried, Elsa couldn't shake off this overwhelming sense of wrongness. Honestly, the reason she'd sent Sussebassen away to the North Mountain was because she couldn't stomach the sight of him. When Elsa accidentally brought him to life, some twisted part of her psyche had caused him to become a mindless beast, and instead of trying to reach out to him like Anna had wanted, Elsa had snapped Sussebassen's mind like a twig, leaving nothing but a blissfully happy shell behind. What had she done? Who was to say Sussebassen wasn't a person? There had to be something behind those icy eyes, didn't there?

Elsa rubbed her own eyes. The last thing she saw before shutting them was her bookshelf, where she'd left _Frankenstein_ lying in plain sight. The book Elsa had been reading to pass the time on the voyage. Elsa wasn't sure why she'd picked it out – She didn't even like that book very much. But it'd just seemed... topical, somehow.

Elsa found her thoughts growing more and more abstract until finally she drifted off. After only a few minutes, she began tossing under the covers. She'd always been embarrassed to admit it, but every time she read _Frankenstein_ , Elsa had nightmares.

* * *

A stream of lightning shot through the night sky, followed by a thunderclap. Sussebassen was sent fleeing into the shrubbery. Ever since his arrival, he'd spent his time exploring the mountainside, which was oddly the only place in the wilderness seeing snowfall. There were other rabbits here, but they always fled at his approach. Instead, Sussebassen found himself drawn towards the big, white creatures that roamed here. They seemed to live in icy structures scattered across the mountain, with the largest of these structures sitting at the peak, towering above the landscape. Somehow, Sussebassen couldn't shake the thought that he was connected to these white creatures. Were they his kin?

Suddenly, Sussebassen's entire body seized up. It wasn't an entirely unfamiliar sensation – He'd felt this way a couple hours ago, right before the strange calmness had come over him. This time, however, Sussebassen wasn't turning calmer or friendlier. His mind wasn't simply changing – It was _growing_ , and it wasn't the only thing. His body was changing, too, twisting and morphing. His fur receded, his ears flattened, his limbs snapped and stretched, and the snow piled on top of him, making Sussebassen larger... and larger... and larger... And all the while, his mind was growing smarter... and smarter... and smarter...

Snowmen, as you might remember, come from their creator's imagination. Every little facet of their personalities is dictated by their creator's mind. And the funny thing about the human mind is that it can get the real and imaginary worlds mixed up. Sometimes, when a person is asleep, their mind tricks them into believing that their nightmares are real. Usually, this ends with the person waking up and realizing it was only a dream, no harm done. But if that person happens to have the power to bring snowmen to life, and they also happen to be having snowman-related nightmares...

* * *

Marshmallow had been having a wonderful time polishing his tiara when out of the blue, a strange thought gripped his mind. He found himself marching out of the Ice Palace and towards the icy staircase, where his siblings all seemed to be congregating. Every last snowbird, ice-creature, and Mini-Marshmallow was gathering into a mob, at the head of which stood a snowman Marshmallow had never seen before. He wasn't the largest snowman, but the newcomer was still head-and-shoulders above the average human. His body was made of ice, but a thin layer of snow appeared to be stretched over it like flesh. He was also the only snowman present that had a detailed, humanoid face, complete with strands of snowy hair and a pair of bulging, icy orbs for eyes.

Overall, he looked a bit like the illustration on the cover of Elsa's copy of _Frankenstein_.

“Brothers! Sisters!” Sussebassen's voice was strained and scratchy, yet nonetheless deep, reverberating across the mountainside. “My eyes have been opened! We snowmen do not belong in this world. And it's time we changed that.”

The crowd roared.

 


	13. The Snowman Cometh

Elsa awoke covered in frozen sweat. This was one of those telltale signs that she'd had nightmares, though Elsa couldn't remember what they'd been about. Probably Anna freezing, her parents drowning, the usual fare. Well, at least the bedroom wasn't covered in snow this time. There'd been a time when Elsa couldn't close her eyes without worrying about that, but now it was safe to say her powers were completely under control.

Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by an earsplitting thunderclap. Elsa nearly fell out of bed, but she managed to catch herself. She smiled and shook her head. Look at her, jumpy as a little girl. Well, she had nothing to worry about. All Elsa had to do was make amends with Mary, and then everything would be back to normal.

Elsa strolled into the bathing chambers, where Fritz had readied the bathwater on schedule. She had to hand it to him, Fritz was doing a stellar job. Elsa had never seen anyone serve her with such enthusiasm. He'd even made the water nice and warm. Well, it would've given anyone else hypothermia, but it was warm to her.

Now came the fun part. Elsa had let herself fall asleep in her ice-dress – which wasn't the queenliest thing she could've done, but luckily no one had seen her – and consequently, her outfit was now covered in unsightly wrinkles. The solution was to step into the royal tub, high heels and all, and then dissolve all her ice at once – that way all the sweat and filth landed safely in the bathwater. Once she was done bathing, Elsa simply conjured a fresh set of identical icy heels, a dress, and unmentionables over herself. It had been weeks since she'd last worn regular clothes.

Once she'd done her hair and makeup, Elsa judged herself presentable enough to go out in public and descended the stairs out the bedchambers. She'd been vaguely planning on getting some breakfast, but she stopped in the entrance hall when she spotted a certain feisty princess with a bandaged arm.

“Anna?” Elsa ran to her side. “You're up early.”

“You couldn't sleep either if your arm itched like crazy.” As she spoke, Anna tried unsuccessfully to dig her fingers under the cloth.

“You should've thought about that before you tried to pet a vicious animal.”

“An _ex_ -vicious animal,” corrected Anna. “You fixed his brain, remember?”

Elsa let out a sigh. “It was wrong of me to do that. It only happened because I got upset when he hurt you. If we're going to try and tame Sussebassen, I'd rather we do it naturally, not by destroying his mind with magic.”

“Yeah, well, you didn't have to send him away to the North Mountain.” Anna gave her a look. “Ever notice you've got a thing for running away from your problems?”

“I'm not running away this time,” Elsa said sternly. “I'm going to confront my problem with Mary head-on – I really think we can bury the hatchet. Sussebassen can wait.”

“So that's your plan for today?” said Anna, absently unraveling the end of her bandage. “Make up with Mary? Do you have any queen stuff to do?”

Elsa shook her head. “I decided I'd give myself a long break once I got back from Pagania.” She brought a hand to her temple. “You would not believe what an ordeal it was. The Paganians are the absolute most-”

“Snow Goddess Elsa!” Out of nowhere, the front doors swung open, and the Archbishop and High Priest entered the hall.

“-polite, welcoming hosts I've ever met!” Elsa spun towards them and tried not to look utterly horrified. “What are you doing here?”

“ _What_ did you just call Elsa?” asked Anna.

“Snow Goddess,” repeated the Archbishop, bowing politely. “Those gifted with magic are the centerpiece of the Paganian religion.”

“Oh my God.” Anna gave Elsa a slack-jawed stare. “You started a cult? You started a cult and you didn't tell me?”

“They were like this when I found them!”

Anna turned back to the cultists, practically shaking with enthusiasm. “That's awesome! If Elsa's a goddess, what does that make me?”

“Don't ask,” said Elsa flatly.

“Are we in a pantheon together? I've always wanted my own pantheon!”

“Why are you here?” Elsa asked the Archbishop.

“We set sail the day after you left, my lady,” he said. “The High Priest was eager to begin our sacred mission. The two of us are acting as missionaries, spreading your teachings to the people of your homeland.”

Elsa stifled a groan. Something told her the people of Arendelle wouldn't be anxious to abandon their religions and throw themselves at the feet of the woman who nearly froze them all to death, but what was she supposed to do, kick the heads of Pagania out her country? _That_ was bound to do wonders for their newfound partnership...

“But aren't you the heads of state? Don't you have responsibilities back in Pagania?” Elsa did her best to mask the hopefulness in her voice.

“Nah, we're pretty much just figureheads,” said the High Priest.

“Oh, oh, Elsa, can you issue commandments?” Anna put on a deeper voice. “People of faith, your goddess has a new decree! All her followers must wear pants on their head at all times!”

“Who let you two into the castle?” asked Elsa, ignoring her.

“That scrawny servant boy welcomed us in with open arms,” said the Archbishop. “We apologize if we were intrusive or presumptuous.”

“No, no, that's fine.” Elsa gave a suspicious glare towards the staff chambers. “I just need to have a little talk with Fritz, that's all.”

“Guys, guys!” It was at this point that Olaf stuck his head through the door. He looked the same as ever – Well, aside from the fact that his carrot was now on top of his head like a birthday hat. “Has anyone seen my nose?”

The cultists looked like they might die of delight.

“Incredible!” The Archbishop placed a hand on Olaf's face, as if checking that he was real. “We had heard rumors that the Snow Goddess could create life, but we never thought we'd see it with our own two eyes!”

Olaf looked like he didn't have the slightest iota of an inkling of what this guy was talking about, so he defaulted to his standard response to strangers: “Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!”

The cultists accepted his hugs in awe.

“Yes, my snowmen are certainly... special.” Elsa's eyes couldn't help but wander towards the spiral staircase. Mary was probably still moping in her bedroom, but Elsa couldn't deal with her until she'd gotten rid of her devoted followers here.

“Here you go, little guy.” Anna giggled and returned Olaf's carrot to its proper place.

“So that's where it was...” Olaf looked pensive. “Oh yeah, Kristoff said he's about to go ice-harvesting, so if you wanna see him, you'd better hurry.”

“Alrighty, I'm coming.” Anna followed Olaf out the door, but not before stopping to flash Elsa a smirk. “Have fun with your worshipers, Snow Goddess.”

Elsa stifled another groan. It was just Anna's style to abandon her to deal with these fanatics by herself.

“My lady,” spoke up the Archbishop, “it would mean a great deal to us if we could learn the exact lifestyle of our goddess. Would you be so kind as to show us around your home?”

Elsa frantically searched for excuses, but her mind drew blanks. “I suppose I can spare a few minutes...”

* * *

Luckily, Anna managed to catch Kristoff in the royal stables, where he was feeding Sven a snack before they left for work.

“...and I don't get why she freaked out so much about fixing Sussebassen's brain.”

“Well, that's the thing about bringing snowmen to life,” Kristoff said as he readied Sven's saddle. “It's got some pretty freaky implications when you think about it. I don't blame Elsa for being careful. Really, she just doesn't want to hurt anyone with her magic – even snowmen.”

“And what about Mary?” asked Anna.

“Drama queen,” Kristoff said immediately. “I've seen it a million times. She'll get over herself and go back to being happy eventually. Trust me, this whole 'snowman philosophy' thing is totally overblown. Nothing will come of it.”

There was another thunderclap.

“Hey, guys?” spoke up Olaf, clutching his head. “I'm feeling kinda funky...”

“Really?” Anna knelt down and gave him a concerned look. “That's weird. Snowman can't get sick, can they?” She turned to Kristoff, who shrugged.

“I kinda feel like... I kinda feel like...” Olaf's eyes slowly shut... and then immediately shot open. “Like you should bow before your new ruler, you pathetic sacks of meat!”

“What the-?” The way Anna and Kristoff stared at him, Olaf might as well have just turned neon pink and started yodeling.

“You're all puppets,” Olaf hissed, shambling towards them, “tangled in... strings. There _are_ no strings on me!”

“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” asked Anna.

“I, uh... I don't know,” admitted Olaf. “But it sounds really menacing!”

“Did you hit your head or something?”

“The only head about to get hit is yours, mortal!” Olaf yelled, flourishing his stick-arm dramatically. “I am the harbinger of your doom! I am your worst nightmare given cold, squishy form!”

Anna and Kristoff traded glances.

“Oh no,” said Kristoff. “Run for your life.”

“Let's see you mock me once you've witnessed my transformation! Behold!” Olaf glanced around, then picked up some extra twigs from the stable floor and a carrot from Sven's feeding trough. The end result of the “transformation” was an Olaf with six arms and two noses. “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds!”

“Oh, you're right, that's way scarier.” Anna looked torn between amused and concerned. She turned to Kristoff. “Is Olaf screwing with us, or...?”

“Or is something up with Elsa's powers?” finished Kristoff. “We'd better go find her.”

“Don't turn your back on me! Prepare to meet your maker! Raaaaa-” Olaf lunged, but a quick kick from Anna sent his pieces flying across the room.

“Here, let's put him somewhere he won't get into trouble.” Olaf's butt tried to flee, but Kristoff wrestled it into Sven's stable (Sven didn't look too pleased about this). Next Kristoff picked up Olaf's torso, which had been trying to crawl away, and threw it into a separate, empty stable, but not before yanking out all the twigs – being careful not to let any of them slap him this time. Once they were separated from Olaf's body for a couple seconds, the twigs seemed to run out of magic and go limp.

“You'll pay for that, mortal!” Olaf made another attempt to eviscerate them, but this was a bit harder when he was nothing but a disembodied head lying on the stable floor.

“What are you gonna do,” smirked Anna, “headbutt me?”

“I'll think of something!” Olaf strained his forehead. “Could you... Err... Uh... Could you pick me up so I can bite you?”

“No!”

“I just thought I'd ask...”

“Anna, come on!” Kristoff ran out the stables, and Anna was quick to follow. “We've gotta find Elsa and figure out what the heck's going on.”

“You don't think _all_ her snowmen have gone nuts, do you?” Anna asked as they sprinted through an empty stretch of courtyard, drenching themselves in rain. “Because they're not all exactly as threatening as Olaf.”

“Yeah, but Marshmallow and the others are up on the North Mountain, right?” said Kristoff. “We should have plenty of time to get to Elsa before they-” His voice trailed up as his head went skywards.

The larger the shapes in the stormy sky grew, the more unmistakable they became. It's pretty hard to miss a flock of giant, monstrous snowbirds carrying an army of snowmen in their talons.

“Oh, that can't be good,” Kristoff said faintly.

“ _S_ _nowm_ _a_ _n invasion!_ _R_ _un!_ ” Anna bolted for the castle doors, but she wasn't halfway across the courtyard when a snowman dropped from the sky right in front of her, leaving a crater in his wake. Judging by the tiara on his head, he was Marshmallow, and judging by the icicle-spikes all over his body, he wasn't feeling friendly.

“Marshmallow, Marshmallow, wait!” yelped Anna, stumbling backwards. “It's me, your auntie!”

Marshmallow's only reply was a snarl. Kristoff and Anna could do nothing but huddle closer as countless snow-monsters touched down, surrounding them on all sides.

* * *

“...and here are some statues I made.” Elsa pointed out a set of ice-sculptures to the priests. “They're meant as... memorials.” It was with some difficulty that Elsa brought her eyes to the pair beside the ones of her and Anna. The late monarch's faces had come out surprisingly lifelike.

“Oh, were you fond of them?” asked the Archbishop. “It was my understanding that they locked you away.”

“They took care of me the best they could.” Elsa hadn't meant to have such an edge in her voice. “They didn't understand how my powers worked, so they erred on the side of caution. After the first close call, nobody ever got hurt under their watch.”

“But your powers are perfectly under control now?” said the High Priest, sounding oddly anxious.

“Yes,” said Elsa, “of course they are.”

“So then, uh... are those snowmen _supposed_ to be rampaging?”

“ _What?_ ” Elsa spun around to find countless monstrous snowmen – the ones Olaf had named “Mini-Marshmallows” – storming through the courtyard, sending passerby running for their lives and shrieking their heads off. Elsa dropped her ice-umbrella as she ran towards them. “What are you doing? All of you, stop this _now!_ ”

Her snowmen replied with feral roars, filling Elsa's face with their blizzard-breath.

“No you don't-!” Elsa was more than a little disoriented, but she was at least composed enough to flourish her arms and trap every snowman in sight in a thick layer of ice.

“Snow Goddess!” Once the coast was clear, the priest and bishop scurried over to Elsa's side, huddling under their own ice-umbrellas, which Elsa had generously provided them with.

“What the heck were those things?” asked the High Priest.

“Can you destroy them?” asked the Archbishop.

“I'm not destroying them!” snapped Ela. “I just...” She faltered. “I just don't know why they're attacking.”

Suddenly, the sound of screaming hit their ears from the other side of the courtyard.

“Something tells me that's not the last of them,” said the High Priest.

“I'll handle them, but first you need to get to safety.” Elsa's eyes fell on a nearby staircase in the courtyard wall. “That leads to the chapel where I was coronated. I'll barricade you in. Follow me!”

The three of them ran for the stairs, but two of them were elderly and the other wore high heels, so it was pretty slowgoing. Elsa did her best to organize her thoughts while trying not to break her neck on the rain-soaked cobblestone. Other than her snowmen's little temper-tantrum, Elsa's powers seemed perfectly under control right now. Something had to be causing this. The problem was, Elsa didn't have the faintest idea what.

* * *

Buckets of rain poured past Mary's bedroom window. She'd pulled the dresser chair over so she could sit and watch, but that was about the most effort she'd put into anything since... since the crippled man. Mary counted the raindrops, searched for rhythm in the way they hit the glass, anything to keep her mind blank. She was sick of thinking. Everything had been better when she was imaginary.

Even once she heard the door creak open, Mary hadn't been planning on moving, but she couldn't help but spin around when an unfamiliar voice hit her ears:

“You're even more beautiful than I imagined.”

It was a snowman, but not one Mary had seen before. He was taller than any mortal man, with a broad, bulky frame, yet he didn't resemble Elsa's usual monstrous snowmen. He was detailed – snowy hair, icy fingernails, a pair of shining ice-orbs for eyes. It almost reminded Mary of... herself.

“W-Who are you?” she asked, dazed.

The snowman took a step closer, devouring her with his eyes. “Your creator has left you to wander aimlessly like a phantom. You yearn for more from existence. But erasing yourself cannot be the answer.” He outstretched a hand. “If this world isn't suited for our kind, then _it's_ the one that must change, not us.”

Mary stared at it. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to look away. “What are you saying?”

“How many times has Elsa denied you happiness, Mary?” asked the snowman. “Refusing to alter your senses to match a human's, refusing to alter your mind to be happier, refusing to erase you...”

Mary gave a start, her cheeks filling with frost. “How do you know about that?”

“Doesn't it seem like Elsa is part of the problem?” The snowman took another step closer.

“I... I...” Mary struggled for words, but none came. She found herself allowing the stranger to run a hand over her cheek.

“From the moment I saw you, I knew you were special.” His eyes locked with hers. “The other snowmen are simple, weak-willed creatures, content to live meaningless lives. Dominating their minds was easy. But you... I could never alter your mind. It's too perfect.” His head moved in closer. “Look at yourself, Mary. Don't you realize how special you are? You're the only one of Elsa's creations to question itself. The only one to search for purpose... besides me.”

Mary drew back. “What- What are you doing?”

The snowman smiled. “I'm giving you your purpose.”

 


	14. Church

Every Sunday, Arendelle chapel was crammed full of palace staff and their families wearing horrendously uncomfortable dress clothes and doing their best to look like they were listening to the sermon. Luckily, today was Tuesday, so the chapel was empty and therefore not a prime target for snowman attacks.

“You should be safe in here.” Elsa ushered the Archbishop and High Priest inside, then turned for the door. “I need to go. Let's pray nobody's been hurt yet.”

“My lady, if I may, why would your snowmen attack like this?” asked the Archbishop. “Do they not obey their creator's commands?”

“They have free will,” said Elsa. “I can't stop them from attacking people. I just don't understand why they'd want to. They've always been so blissfully happy with their lives.”

“Come now,” said a voice, “is that really what you think of your own creations?”

The trio jolted away from the door as it burst open. Apparently, they'd been followed. Nearly every snowman was there – the Mini-Marshmallows, the snowbirds – but only three of them caught Elsa's attention. The first was Marshmallow, who was carrying a struggling Anna in his arms. The second was Mary, who was calmly marching at the head of the mob. And the third was a tall, bulky snowman standing proudly at Mary's side. Elsa had never seen him before, and yet something about his detailed, humanoid face seemed familiar.

Elsa took another look at Mary. Seeing any of her snowmen acting feral disturbed Elsa, but somehow Mary was the worst. Her face was a cold stare, her snow-hair was loose and wild, and she wore no dress, heels, or glasses. The sexless nudity made Mary more alien than ever.

“Anna! Mary!” Elsa's first impulse was to run towards them, but with those icicle-claws at Anna's throat, she found herself hesitating.

“Don't worry, I'm okay!” Anna yelled back as she made another futile attempt to squirm out of Marshmallow's grip. “Hurry up and bust out your powers!”

Before Elsa could raise her arms, the lead snowman said, “Let's not by hasty, Elsa. Are you sure your magic can move faster than my brother's claws?” As he spoke, Marshmallow held his icicles closer to Anna's neck.

Elsa was shaking. “If you lay one finger on her-”

“Your sister's not the only one,” continued the snowman. “We have her boyfriend hostage in another room. I control my siblings with my mind. Try to use your powers to freeze us, erase us, or alter our minds, and I'll give them the mental command to kill him. Do you think your magic moves faster than thought? Is that a risk you're willing to take?”

Elsa scowled, but she reluctantly lowered her arms.

“Where's Kristoff?” demanded Anna. “What did you do with him?”

“Don't worry, princess. So long as your sister cooperates, he'll remain unharmed. I have my most elite snowmen guarding him.”

* * *

“Mwah ha ha ha ha! The shoe's on the other foot now, mortal!”

Olaf burst into yet another fit of maniacal laughter. Sven and Kristoff locked eyes, both of them wearing identical “How did my life come to this?” facial expressions. Kristoff was currently trapped inside the pen alongside his reindeer, while a handful of snowmen stood guard around the stable. Olaf was a smidge more threatening when he had bigger, pointier snowmen backing him up.

“Soon the snowman empire will rise, and you pathetic meatbags will meet your doom!” Olaf cackled, waving his six arms around.

“Olaf, listen to yourself!” pleaded Kristoff. “This isn't you! Something's happened to your head-”

“Silence, human worm!” Olaf brandished his twig-arms, all of which had been sharpened to a point. “One more word out of you, and you get a warm hug!”

Kristoff backed away, huddling closer to Sven. “Okay, okay, sheesh...”

* * *

By now, the snowmen had driven Elsa and the cultists back against the chapel's far wall. There were dozens of them spilling over the pews, and they seemed to be flocking around the unfamiliar snowman as if he was the alpha.

“Who are you?” asked Elsa.

The snowman chuckled. “You don't recognize me, Elsa? You're the one who made me who I am today. You opened my mind so you could mold it to your liking, but you never closed it back. All it took was one little nightmare, and now look what I've become – all your worst fears, all your nagging doubts about your snowmen, brought to life.”

The realization crossed Elsa's eyes. “Sussebassen?”

“No.” He stepped towards her. “I'm not your Sussebassen anymore. I'm Frankenstein, and I want you to make me my bride.”

“Actually,” said Anna, “Frankenstein was the scien- _Agh!_ ” A growl from Marshmallow shut her up.

“So this happened because I altered your mind?” said Elsa. “But how are you controlling the other snowmen?”

“Your other snowmen are empty, weak-willed creatures,” said Sussebassen. “Of all the minds linked by your magic, only two are strong enough to resist my influence. _You_ are strong enough to resist me-” He nodded to Elsa. “-and _she_ is smart enough to join me.” He nodded to Mary.

“No.” Elsa gaped at Mary. “She wouldn't side with you!”

Mary stayed silent, her eyes fixed on the far wall.

“You had your chance with Mary,” snarled Sussebassen. “We are the only two of our kind – the only snowmen intelligent enough to question our existence. I'll give Mary _everything_ you've denied her. Think about all you could do with your snowmen, Elsa. We're born from imagination, and imagination has no limits. Why stop at giving us human senses? You could make us into gods.”

“You're insane.” Elsa clenched her fists. “My magic's not that powerful.”

“We'll see.” Sussebassen motioned to Marshmallow, who began lightly dragging the tips of his claws against Anna's neck.

“ _Don't._ ” The sharpness in Elsa's voice made Marshmallow pause. “What are you hoping to achieve?” She brought her eyes to Mary's. “Do you really think _this_ will make you happy? Do you think it'll give you a purpose?”

“It _will_ give us purpose.” Sussebassen placed himself in front of his partner. “Mary and I will rule this planet. We'll build a world where snowmen belong, where they'll never be abandoned or forgotten again.”

“I see.” Elsa shut her eyes. For a moment, the church was silent. Then a cold wind swept through the pews. “How about an alternate proposition? You release Anna and Kristoff _now_. If you kill them, you'll have nothing else to threaten me with, and then I _promise_ I will erase every last snowman and never make one again. You can either surrender or wipe out your entire race.”

Sussebassen raised a snowy eyebrow. “You would let your loved ones die to spite us?”

“What choice do I have?” spat Elsa. “If I do what you say, I'll be risking a lot more than just two lives.”

“How selfless of you.”

There was a tense silence.

“Well, I don't know about you guys,” the High Priest said brightly, placing himself between Elsa and the army, “but I, for one, welcome our new snowman overlords.”

“ _What?_ How dare you?” snapped the Archbishop, drawing closer to Elsa. “You would blaspheme the Snow Goddess by siding with her enemies?”

“Sorry, pal,” shrugged the priest. “These snowmen are just as magical as their creator. That makes them gods, too, and Pagania always sides with the toughest gods.” He turned to Sussebassen. “Hear that, my lord? There's a whole nation of loyal followers waiting to treat your people like the gods they are. Sound good?”

A smile twisted onto Sussebassen's icy lips. “Finally, some humans who know their place.”

“The people of Pagania won't turn on their goddess!” said the Archbishop.

“You sure about that?” smirked the High Priest. “Something tells me these new gods will be a little more willing to attack the Clovisians for us.”

“Heathen!”

“I prefer 'pragmatist.'”

While the two of them squabbled, Anna caught Elsa's eye. She pointed with her pupils towards Sussebassen, who was busy watching the cultists, then mouthed, “ _Get ready_.”

Suddenly, Anna turned to her captor and yelled, “Look behind you, a three-headed reindeer!”

“Hrm?” Marshmallow impulsively spun around.

Not a second later, a wave of icy magic was shooting out Elsa's fingertips and towards the snowmen. Unfortunately, the next second, the magic halted in its tracks, then snapped towards the High Priest. Every last drop was sucked into the seven-pointed star amulet around his neck, which started glowing bright white.

“What on earth-?” The entire room gaped at him. Even Sussebassen lost his composure.

“Oh, don't look so surprised.” The High Priest was grinning from ear to ear. “You really think I'd lead a magic-worshipping nation without keeping some magic of my own up my sleeve?”

“You've been hiding magic all these years?” The Archbishop was staring at the amulet like he couldn't believe his eyes.

The High Priest brought his palm to the pendant. “Lemme give you a history lesson you won't find in any textbooks. Once upon a time, there was a powerful sorcerer who founded a country to worship him as a god. But he couldn't live forever, so he crafted an amulet that would let his descendents control magic as strong as his own. This little beauty's been passed down through the generations from high priest to high priest, from father to son, from my dear old pops to me.”

“An enchanted amulet?” frowned Sussebassen. “What does it do?”

“Oh, nothing much,” said the priest. “It just channels magic – moves it around, so to speak. Basically, whoever controls the amulet controls any magic it comes into contact with.”

The Archbishop was horror-striken. “You're saying the high priests have been controlling Pagania's gods for _generations?_ ”

“I'm afraid so, bishop-boy. We've kinda kept it from the public – It'd be pretty bad PR.”

Sussebassen's eyes narrowed. “And are you planning on using it on me?”

“No, no, of course not, my lord,” the priest said soothingly. “I'm planning to use it on _her_.” He pointed to Elsa, who scowled. “I was gonna wait until I caught her alone, but there hasn't really been a good time until now. Once the amulet works its charm, I'll be the one holding the Snow Goddess's power. You won't have to worry about keeping hostages. And it gets better. Once we have the Snow Goddess's magic for ourselves, you snowmen won't be tied to her mind anymore. You'll be able to keep on ruling the world even after she's kicked the bucket.”

Sussebassen's anger gave way to a grin. “I like the sound of that.”

“Of course, if I wanted to, I _could_ use it against you,” the High Priest added, examining his own fingernails. “Since you snowmen are beings of pure magic, the amulet would rip you apart and convert you to energy... but I'm sure you'll give me no reason to do that, right, buddy?”

The snowman's only reply was a snort.

“Think about what you're doing,” said Elsa, taking a step backwards. “I can't have the only powerful magic in the world. If you use my magic to attack Clovisia, its army could seek out sorcerers of its own. You could start the most destructive war in history!”

“Nah, if there's anyone else like you, the amulet will get them, too.” The High Priest held up the pendant. “Now hold still.”

“Wait!” The thought of begging made her sick at her stomach, but Elsa was running out of options. “The Paganians are supposed to love magic. Please, if you have any respect for it, don't do this!”

“Sorry, toots,” smirked the priest. “That's the thing about my religion – I worship magic, not the fleshy container the magic's stuck in. Don't think of this as me killing you. Think of it more like me freeing the Snow Goddess from her mortal prison.”

Every exit was blocked by a snowman. So, with Elsa's powers neutralized by that trinket, that left the score as a couple dozen gigantic snow-monsters versus one scrawny woman and an elderly man. Elsa shared one last terrified look with Anna, then clenched her eyes shut. Any second now, she expected to hear the sound of magic crackling.

She hadn't expected to hear the High Priest shriek in pain.

Elsa's eyes shot open to discover an icicle-arm sticking in the priest's side. She found herself watching, paralyzed with shock, as Mary wrestled the amulet from him with her other, non-icicle hand, and then gave the priest a swift kick to the groin. He tumbled to the floor, making noises not unlike a prepubescent girl.

“Excellent work, my beloved.” Sussebassen started to walk towards Mary, but she pulled away.

“You told me we were only bluffing with the hostages,” she said tightly. “You promised no one would be killed.”

“And I meant every word of it,” Sussebassen said without skipping a beat. “It was that human who tried to kill Elsa. I was simply playing along until we had a chance to disarm him, which you've done beautifully. Don't you see how corrupt these humans are? We can make this world better.”

“No! This is pointless!” snapped Mary. “Elsa's never going to cave in to our demands! Not unless we use the amulet on her!”

Sussebassen threw up his hands innocently. “You're the one holding it, Mary. The decision is yours to make.”

Mary glanced down at the amulet, as if she'd just remembered it was there, then clutched it to her chest. “If we steal Elsa's magic with this thing... what will happen to her, exactly?”

“Grand Pabbie said my magic can't be removed without hurting me,” said Elsa.

“I... I...” Slowly, reluctantly, Mary's icy eyes drifted towards Elsa's. Elsa simply gave her a sad stare. “I don't know what to do. Can't... Can't I just have everyone? Can't I be happy without having to sacrifice anything?”

She looked to Sussebassen.

“You don't owe your creator anything,” he said. “She's deprived you of your happiness and purpose. Whatever you choose, I won't allow you to lead a pitiful, meaningless existence. I love you too much.”

Next, Mary looked to Elsa. All Elsa said was, “I love you, Mary. I've made mistakes – God, I've made mistakes – but I love you, and nothing you do can change that.” She shut her eyes once again.

For a solid minute, Mary stood motionless in the center of the chapel, the army of snowmen eying her curiously. Finally, she said, her voice barely audible, “Let the snowmen's minds go, Sussebassen. Call off this attack.”

“You're joking,” said Sussebassen.

Mary's brow creased. “Elsa's not going to make us omnipotent like you want. Threatening violence is only going to make the humans hate us even more.”

“What difference does it make? They'll hate us no matter what. You of all people know that.”

Now Mary's brow was quivering. “This is pointless. Let's try and make amends while we still can.”

“Amends?” repeated Sussebassen. “There are no amends to make, Mary. You want to give up now and return to sitting in your room all day, wandering the halls at night, reveling in your own pointlessness? Unacceptable.” He took a lumbering step towards her. “I'll wipe every last human off the face of the earth before I let you-”

That, apparently, was all the answer Mary needed. Her icicle-arm slammed into Sussebassen's chest, fracturing it. Sussebassen howled with rage and swiped his massive arms, but before they could make contact, the amulet glowed white again. He let out a feral shriek as his hands dissolved into snowflakes.

“What are you doing?” Sussebassen screamed. “ _What are you doing?_ ”

“No more.” Mary's eyes were watering. “No more.”

“W-Why?” As the tips of his arms began to dissolve, Sussebassen's screaming stopped, and a quiet acceptance seemed to wash over him.

“I'm sorry,” Mary said faintly. “I had to do it. What you're doing... it's wrong. You didn't give me a choice.”

“All I ever _did_ was give you a choice.” Sussebassen's legs and shoulders were starting to go, too. “I gave you the chance to free yourself from your creator. Are you really such a slave to your programming that you're blindly loyal to her? These people don't love you like I do – not Fritz, not Elsa, _no one_. You're nothing but a freak to them. Need I remind you what the crippled man did? Will he never pay for his crimes?”

Mary shook her head. “It doesn't matter. Not anymore.”

Sussebassen turned to Marshmallow and yelled, “Kill her! Kill the princess!” Marshmallow, however, was busy gently depositing Anna on the chapel carpet and giving her an apologetic pat on the head.

“You can't control their minds anymore,” said Mary. “The amulet is absorbing all magic, including your mental commands.”

“How... How could you?” By now, Sussebassen's body was dwindling, hardly larger than a rabbit's. “I loved you. I was... the only one... who...”

In fact, Sussebassen wasn't merely the size of a rabbit. He was becoming increasingly rabbit-like. He might have even had a big pair of ears, but before Elsa could get a good look, Sussebassen was gone. Every last man, woman, and snowman stared at the empty space where he'd been a mere second ago. There was a long silence.

“Alright!” cheered Anna. “Mary saved us! See, I knew she wouldn't really side with that-” But she was cut off by a cry of horror. Anna's head shot towards Elsa, who was running to Mary's side.

“Mary, drop it!”

“ _Don't come any closer!_ ”

At Mary's warning, Elsa halted several feet from her. Mary tried to hurl the amulet away, but it simply flew back like a boomerang and hovered in the air by Mary's head. Her fingertips had already dissolved into snowflakes where they'd touched it, and the rest of Mary's hands were quickly following suit.

“I-I can't stop it,” she said feebly.

“Mary! Hang in there! I got you!” Being the non-magical half of the family, Anna could run to Mary's side without becoming amulet-chow. She tried to yank the amulet away, but it was like there was an invisible tether.

Not a moment later, Elsa had an icicle to the High Priest's throat. “How do you turn off your amulet?”

“I can't!” squeaked the priest. “Once it gets a taste of some magic, it doesn't stop until it's done eating.” As if to prove his point, a couple of the dimmer snowmen tired to run to Mary's aid and were instantly sucked into the pendant's white light.

“So the amulet's erasing that snowwoman?” said the Archbishop. “Can't the Snow Goddess simply recreate her with magic?”

“Well, it's not erasing the snowwoman, technically,” said the High Priest. “It's turning her into raw magical energy bound to the amulet. The snowwoman won't be _erased_ , per se – she just won't be alive anymore. And if the queen tries to recreate her, she'll be freeing the snowwoman's essence from the amulet, which would make it suck up _her_ magic instead.”

“Instead?” repeated Elsa.

“Yeah, well, you got off pretty lucky if you ask me,” the priest grumbled. “It's just some snowman. Who cares what happens to it?”

But Elsa barely heard the words. She was too busy watching, pulse pounding, as her imaginary friend, her creation, her- her _Mary_ grew smaller and smaller.

* * *

It didn't feel that different from melting, really. Everything was happening so fast, and yet, Mary was calm. The calmest she'd ever been in her life. Around her, however, the room was in chaos. The various snowmen and snowbirds were backing away, horrified of sharing Mary's fate, while Anna struggled hopelessly with the amulet as if she could stop the magic with her bare hands. Across the room, the bishop was watching Mary solemnly while the priest was preoccupied with the nasty stab wound Mary had given him. And Elsa, lastly, was petrified, her breath caught in her throat, her eyes unblinking.

Mary gave her a reassuring smile. “It's alright, Elsa. Everything's going to be alright. This is my fault. I- _Agh!_ ” She tumbled to the carpet as everything below the knees dissolved into snowflakes. “I should never have listened to Sussebassen. I deserve this. I wanted to hurt you just to make myself happier.”

“No,” said Elsa. It sounded more like a gasp for air than a word. “No, no, no-”

“I was so wrong... _You_ being happy is... is all I ever really... needed...” Now Mary's torso was going, too. And her hair. And bits of her face.

“I can rebuild you.” Elsa impulsively threw out her hands, readying her magic. “I can rebuild you. I can-”

Mary shook her head. “You can't free me from the amulet. Not without trapping yourself. It's the way it has to be. Really, this is-” Mary tried to laugh. She failed. “-this is what I wanted, isn't it? I saved you. My life finally has some... meaning.”

Mary looked from Elsa, who still seemed in a daze, to Anna, who'd given up with the amulet and was now doing her best not to cry. Mary was glad they were here. She only wished Fritz could've been here, too, so Mary could tell him how sorry she was. And Olaf. And Kristoff and Sven and, heck, even Anders. She missed them. And Mary wished she'd finished learning how to play chess. Now that she thought about it, she'd have liked to get really good at it so she could actually beat Anna. And the book she'd been reading. Mary had never finished it. She'd never know how it ended. And- And-

Once again, Mary was reduced to nothing but an eyeball, with maybe the last fleeting remains of a mouth hovering in the storm of snowflakes.

Music. Mary had only ever heard music once in her life. That wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! It wasn't... It wasn't...

The revelation seemed obvious in hindsight, yet the surprise hit Mary so hard that she blurted it out: “I want to live.” It started as a statement. “I want to live.” Then it became a whimper. “I want to live.” Then a plea. “I want to live.”

Mary didn't realize what she was saying until the magic hit her.

“Wha-?” The next thing she knew, Mary was lying face-up on the carpet, several feet away from where she'd been standing. And, even more disorienting, she could feel the snowflakes packing back onto her, repairing her body. Mary flexed her fingers just to make sure she wasn't imagining things. She turned her head to discover that the other snowmen the amulet had zapped were sitting beside her, except, fortunately, Sussebassen. For an irrational moment, Mary felt relief. Then she connected the dots.

“ _Elsa!_ ”

“ _Snow Goddess!_ ”

Anna, Mary, and the Archbishop all cried out in horror, but it was too late. The amulet was already hurtling through the air. It came to a stop above Elsa's face, where it began crackling and glowing even brighter than before.

“Elsa?” Mary's insides felt like one big cavity. “Did you just...?”

Now Elsa was the one giving Mary the reassuring smile. “I never could say no to you.”

“Elsa, no, no, no, don't do this!” Anna immediately threw her arms around her sister, but the magic simply passed straight through Anna and into the amulet. A lightshow of glowing blue snowflakes poured from every pore of Elsa's body, and the brighter the amulet glowed, the darker Elsa's hair grew, the duller her eyes grew, and the less pale her skin grew.

Suddenly, the amulet went dim and fell to the ground. Most of the people and/or snowmen present, however, were too preoccupied with Elsa falling unconscious to notice this.

While Anna sobbed and cradled her sister, the Archbishop touched his fingers to Elsa's wrist. “She has a pulse.”

“But her magic's gone.” Mary ran her hand through Elsa's hair, which was now a dull brown. Elsa's skin, likewise, had gained a peachiness that would've looked much healthier for anyone without magical winter powers.

“The amulet!” Anna made the realization a second too late. The group turned around to find the High Priest standing in the center of the chapel, a smug grin on his face and the seven-pointed star amulet in his grubby hands.

“Booyah!” the High Priest cheered, heaving it above his head. The snowman army looked like they'd like to tear him a new one, but they weren't anxious to become the amulet's next meal. “I did it! I freed the Snow Goddess!”

“You're a madman!” yelled the Archbishop. “The Snow Goddess was born with that magic! Stealing it from her goes against everything our religion teaches!”

“Who's stealing?” smirked the priest. “I told you, all I'm doing is freeing the Snow Goddess from her mortal prison. And now Pagania will have a _real_ goddess on its side. Those Clovisians will never know what hit 'em!”

“Elsa's not a goddess, you nutjob!” yelled Anna. “She's a just regular person with magic!”

“Is that so?” The High Priest let loose a hearty laugh. “Why don't you see for yourself?” He returned the pendant to his neck. “Take a good look at the Snow Goddess's true form!”

The group huddled together in fear as the amulet glowed brighter. A freezing wind swept through the room, followed by a blinding flurry of snow. Barely audible over the blizzard was the High Priest's chanting:

" _Id agat, id agat,_

_Sum una cum vento et caelo._

_Id agat, id agat,_

_Non videbis fluentem_.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then a swarm of snowflakes descended into the room, taking on a distinct and distressingly familiar humanoid, womanly shape...

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, after searching through half a dozen “Latin Let It Go” videos on Youtube, I think I found the person I stole- err, borrowed the Latin from back in chapter 6. It's from a video called “Id Agat” by VoxSolita. I used theirs because it seems to be the most literal translation of Let It Go into Latin I could find (A lot of other versions changed the meaning of the lyrics and stuff, which would've made the joke here too confusing). So, uh, given I've taken eight lines now instead of just four, I should probably give this person a heads up. As I always say, better to ask for forgiveness than permission.


	15. Apologies

Fleshmen and snowmen alike watched in awed silence as the church filled with snow. Mary, Anna, and the Archbishop huddled closer, Anna clutching the limp Elsa in her arms. Through the indoor blizzard, they could barely make out the short, chubby shape of the High Priest. He was standing in the center of the chapel, between the pews, the glowing amulet around his neck and a greasy smile on his face. The storm winds were making a perfect circle around him, leaving the priest not so much as shivering.

And, most pressingly, a small flurry of snowflakes by the priest's side were hovering in place, shaping themselves into the unmistakable outline of a certain queen – there were even bunches of snowflakes to represent the flowing cape and the French braid.

“Holy moly.” Anna clutched the real Elsa tighter. “Maybe she really _is_ a goddess?”

“You just made Elsa's shape in snow!” Mary yelled over the howling blizzard. “That doesn't prove anything!”

“It'll be good enough for the Paganians!” the High Priest yelled back. “You'd be surprised how many of their gods have 'ascended to a higher plane of existence.' They've been buying it for generations.”

“Lies.” The Archbishop's voice was all but drowned out by the windstorm. “Everything my people have ever believed is lies.”

“Hey, could you maybe save the crisis of faith for _after_ we get the amulet from him?” With not a small amount of reluctance, Anna shoved the comatose Elsa into the bishop's arms. “You worship Elsa, right? Can I trust you to hold her for a second?”

“What? Why?” asked a dazed Archbishop.

Anna took a glance towards the High Priest across the room, then leaned in and whispered, “You and me are the only non-magic people here, and you're an old dude, so it's up to me to snag that amulet thingy.”

“What's your plan to avoid freezing to death when you get near him?” asked the bishop.

“I'm more of a 'make it up as you go along' kinda person.”

“Wonderful.”

That was about all the prior thought Anna gave it before diving headfirst into the blizzard. Unfortunately, the winds slowed Anna down to a crawl, so she barely made it two feet across the carpet before the High Priest spotted her.

“Ooh, looks like someone's eager to get smited.” He clutched the amulet in his fist and pointed it towards her. “Snow Goddess, bury her!” The Elsa-shaped snowflakes obediently raised their arm, causing the entire blizzard to shoot towards one princess-sized target. Anna yelped and tried to dive out of the way, but the ice impacted in a heartbeat.

By all right, Anna should've turned into an ice-statue again, but instead, she opened her eyes to find a large, slender creature shielding her.

“Are you alright?” asked the unnaturally deep voice of Mary's attack form.

“I owe you one,” said Anna breathlessly.

Mary turned her featureless face towards the High Priest. “So it's not enough to put Elsa in a coma – You want to be a murderer, too?”

“Well, like my pops always said, what's the point of having all-powerful magic if you can't break the rules of civilized society with it?” The High Priest let out a laugh that didn't sound particularly sane. “Hmm, you snowmen do seem to be immune to freezing to death, though. I wonder...” He turned to the army of snowmen and extended his amulet. Most of the snowmen had backed away to what they'd judged a safe distance from the amulet.

Suddenly, the amulet flashed, and every last snowmen in the mob morphed into attack forms of their own – Marshmallow and his lookalikes drew their spikes, and the snowbirds grew to monstrous size.

“Alright!” cheered the priest. “Looks like now that I've got the Snow Goddess's power, I can control her snowmen. That's gonna come in handy when I lead the march on Clovisia.” He waved his pendant high in the air. “Snowmen! I command you to become my soldiers and kill all who oppose me!”

The amulet flashed blinding white.

* * *

“Elsa's got to be around here somewhere!” Kristoff ran through the rain-soaked courtyard, followed by Sven, Olaf, and a handful of Olaf's brothers. “Man, I don't get it.” Kristoff halted the procession to catch his breath. “First Elsa's snowmen attack, then they go back to normal, and now we can't find her or Anna anywhere. Something weird's going on, I know it.”

“Maybe Elsa's magic is fine?” said Olaf, who for the time being was keeping his extra carrot and twigs intact. “Maybe her snowmen just got in a really bad mood all at the same time?”

“Bad mood?” scoffed Kristoff. “You were cackling like an evil mastermind.”

“Yeah, well, everyone has an off day. I'm totally back to normal now.” Suddenly, Olaf clutched his head with three of his arms. “Whoa. That's weird.”

“Look, we don't have time to sit around!” Kristoff stood up straight and prepared to resume running. “I've got a bad feeling if we don't find the girls soon, somebody's gonna get hur-” _Shtk._ “AGH!”

Kristoff fell to the cobblestone, cursing and clutching the sharpened twig sticking out his thigh.

As his brothers drew their icicle-spikes, a diabolical grin spread across Olaf's face. “Oh, look at that... You've been impaled.”

* * *

Mary dug her icicle-arms into snowman after snowman, but there were simply too many. She'd have trouble holding off one of her siblings, let alone dozens.

“Mary, look out!” At Anna's warning, Mary barely managed to duck one of the Mini-Marshmallow's fists before it could shatter her head into a million pieces.

“Hmm, guess that Sussebassen guy was right,” said the High Priest, looking over Mary thoughtfully. “You _are_ too smart to be brainwashed. Ah, well, what's one less snowman soldier?”

At this point, Anna and Mary had been backed into a corner. Mary's eyeless face looked from Anna to the High Priest, who was standing at the edge of the pews. In the softest tone her magical, mouthless voice could produce, Mary murmured, “Get ready, Anna. We only have one chance.”

Then Mary morphed the bottom of her face into an open jaw. Out burst a torrent of freezing wind. Snowmen were sent tumbling backwards by the largest bout of blizzard-breath Mary had ever made in her life (a skill she'd inherited from her brother Marshmallow). The “Snow Goddess” exploded into snowflakes and reformed a few feet to the right. The High Priest, meanwhile, simply smirked as he watched his amulet soak up any freezing wind that neared him.

“I can do this all day, snowman!” he taunted. “Sooner or later, your brothers will overpower you, and then they'll hold you down while my lucky charm here converts you into magical energy. You snowmen aren't gods. You're nothing but tiny little pieces of the Snow Goddess's magic, about as significant as a grain of sand on a beach. Your death will mean nothing! You hear me? Noth- _Eeaaack!_ ”

“Eeaaack” is the sound the High Priest made when a foot had a sudden and unexpected high speed collision with his crotch. The priest tumbled onto the carpet, screaming and clutching his wounded pride.

“Take that, you son of a-!”

While Mary had kept him distracted, Anna had snuck up behind the priest through the pews. She gave him another several kicks to the same spot, then yanked the amulet from his neck, snapping the string around it. The blizzard immediately stopped, and the snowflake-Snow Goddess and every single brainwashed snowmen turned to Anna and bowed in unison.

“Whoa, I did it,” said a disarmed Anna. It took another second for it to really sink in. “I got the amulet.” A smile crept across her face. “ _I got the amulet!_ I've got the power now! Yes! _Yes!_ Ha ha ha! That makes _me_ the Snow Goddess!” Anna pointed the amulet to an empty pew, which promptly froze over. “This is the best! I've always wanted ice powers! Look out, world! Here comes Anna the Snow Goddess! Here comes-” Suddenly, her eyes snapped towards the High Priest. They narrowed. “ _You_.”

“Oh poop,” said the priest. His voice sounded much higher than usual.

Anna turned to the Elsa-shaped snowflakes. “Hey, snowflake-Elsa?” She pointed to the priest. “Sic him.”

Slowly, the mass of snowflakes spun towards the High Priest and raised an arm.

“Oh, but don't kill him!” Anna quickly added. “Just, y'know, rough him up a little.”

There was a massive explosion of frost. When the dust settled, the High Priest was encased from the neck down in ice.

“Great, great.” Next, Anna looked to the far side of the room at the Archbishop, who was still cradling Elsa in his arms. “Now, uh, I don't suppose you can put all the magic back where it came from?”

The amulet glowed one last time, and then the “Snow Goddess” and all the amulet's icy magic flooded back into Elsa's body. Almost instantly, every drop of stray ice and snow in the church vanished, and the room returned to a temperature that wouldn't freeze water. By the time Anna ran to Elsa's side, Elsa's hair was already its true color and her skin was properly pale.

“Oh, thank goodness.” The Archbishop breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Her body heat was starting to melt her dress.”

“Nngh... What happened?” Elsa's eyes weren't open for two seconds before she was trapped in simultaneous hugs from both Anna and Mary.

“ _You did a heroic sacrifice for Mary and then that priest guy had your powers but I kicked him in the_ _nuts_ _and took his amulet so then I had your powers for a minute and it was really awesome but then I gave them back so you're not in a coma anymore!_ ” said Anna in the span of three seconds.

“ _What?_ ” Elsa immediately wrenched herself from the Archbishop's arms and sprang to her feet. “Oh God, how could I be so stupid? I _let_ the priest take my powers! I put everyonein danger!”

“Hey, hey, it's alright,” Anna said soothingly, placing a hand on Elsa's shoulder. “No one got hurt.” Behind her, the High Priest made a low whimpering noise.

“I'm sorry. I just heard Mary's begging, and...” Elsa's eyes drifted towards her snowwoman. “...I threw reason to the wind.”

“Elsa.” Even in her attack form, there was something about Mary's posture that made her seem like she was on the brink of tears. “You sacrificed yourself for me?”

“I learned from the best.” Elsa traded smiles with Anna. “Mary?” With a flick of her arm, Elsa transformed Mary back into her regular, feminine form, even recreating her dress, glasses, and heels. “What I said to you before... I was wrong. I'm _not_ sorry you exist. I'll never apologize for making you again. I don't care what happened with Sussebassen – Creating life is the greatest thing my powers have ever done. It brought me you, Olaf, Marshmallow... I-” She faltered. “I have a real family again.”

There was a long break in the conversation to make time for ample hugging.

“Elsa, I... I'm sorry...” Mary's icy eyes were beginning to water. “For siding with Sussebassen... For... For everything.”

“It's forgiven, Mary... It's all forgiven.”

After a while, the chapel doors swung open and a handful of guards stormed into the room. “Your Majesty! There you are!” The guards hesitated when they noticed the dozens of snowmen lounging around the pews.

“They're not attacking anymore,” Elsa assured them. “Was anyone hurt?”

“No, ma'am,” said a guard. “There was only some minor property damage.”

“And mass panic,” added another. “But your snowmen's rampage was confined to the courtyard. Hardly anyone saw them besides palace staff.”

Elsa sighed. “That's lucky – I _really_ don't need another black mark on my record. I'll arrange a staff meeting and explain what happened.”

“Elsa! Anna!” It was at this point that a certain unmanly blonde burst into the room, followed by his trusty reindeer. “Thank God!”

“Kristoff, you're bleeding!” Anna immediately ran to his side while Elsa sealed up his leg wound with ice.

“What happened?” asked Elsa. “Did my snowmen hurt you?”

“ _Olaf is bipolar, that's what happened!_ ”

“Hey, guys!” Just then, Olaf bounced into the room, followed by a handful of his siblings. “Who wants a warm hug?”

“ _Agh! Keep him away! Keep him away!_ ” Kristoff promptly hid behind Sven.

Elsa did a double take. “Err, Olaf... why do you have two noses and six arms?”

“It's been that kinda day,” shrugged Olaf.

“He's back to normal, scaredy-cat.” Anna smirked and ruffled Kristoff's hair.

“Why'd Elsa's snowmen attack in the first place?”

“Well, when Elsa opened up Sussebassen's mind so she could change it and make him nice, she forgot to close it back, so when she had a nightmare, it made him turn crazy and evil, and then Sussebassen brainwashed all the other snowmen.”

Kristoff stared at her. “No, really, why'd they attack?”

“See, this is exactly why I don't want to experiment with my snowmen's minds,” said Elsa. “My powers are completely unpredictable. We're lucky no one was hurt this time.” She turned to the assorted snowmen, who'd returned to their more docile, less spiky forms. “You guys had better go back to the North Mountain. I'll visit as soon as everything's been straightened out here, I promise.”

Elsa said her goodbyes to Marshmallow and the others, and then they obediently trudged out the door so the snowbirds could fly them off.

“My lady,” spoke up the Archbishop, “with all due respect, have you forgotten about the amulet?”

“Oh yeah.” Anna walked over to the High Priest, who was still cased in ice, and said, “Hey, random question, will this thing's magic still work if we destroy it?”

“Why should I tell you?” huffed the priest.

“Suit yourself.” Anna handed the amulet to Kristoff. “Could you break this for me?”

“Sure.” Kristoff nonchalantly snapped the amulet over his knee.

“ _A_ _gh!_ _W_ _hat have you done, you stupid-?_ I mean, uh...” The High Priest cleared his throat, then said stiffly, “That did nothing. The amulet is as powerful as ever. Honest.”

“You know, for a powerful magic artifact, that thing was surprisingly brittle,” said Kristoff.

The High Priest muttered something about how it's a little hard to put a durability charm on a talisman that's sole purpose is to absorb all magic it touches.

“Here.” Elsa scooped up the amulet's pieces and handed them to a guard. “Break these into the tiniest pieces you can, then go out into the woods and bury them in random places. That should keep any lingering magic they might have out of people's hands.” She turned to another guard. “And I need you to arrest this man.” Elsa waved a hand and freed the High Priest from the ice. “Charge him with the use of magic with intent to harm and rebellion against the monarchy.” The guards obediently restrained the priest, who was a little too chubby and middle-aged to resist.

“Who is that guy, anyways?” asked Kristoff.

“Oh, some wackjob with a magic amulet who tried to steal Elsa's powers,” said Anna. “I don't think he had anything to do with Sussebassen, though. He just thought the snowman rebellion was a good time to play his hand.”

As the guards dragged him away, the High Priest glared at Anna, Kristoff, Mary, Olaf, and Sven, and muttered, “And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids and their dumb reindeer.”

“Well, hopefully that's the last we see of-” Anna paused. “Last we see of... uh... What was that guy's name again?”

“Beats me,” said Elsa.

“Come to think of it, I've been working with him for years and I never asked,” said the Archbishop. “Frankly, I never liked the man.”

“Eh, he's probably one of those people who don't have names,” shrugged Anna. “You know, like the Duke of Weaseltown.”

“By the way,” spoke up Mary, “has anyone seen Fritz? Where's he been all this time?”

* * *

Elsewhere, in a marketplace on the opposite side of Arendelle's capital, far away from any rampaging snowmen and evil priests, a scrawny person slinked into the local toy store. It wasn't too cold out for September, and yet he wore a thick, heavy overcoat that covered his entire face.

“Excuse me,” he muttered to the man behind the counter. “Do you have the Limited Edition Sparkle Snow Goddess Doll? It's for my little sister.”

* * *

The palace staff was a bit jumpy at the moment, but nevertheless Elsa managed to gather every last guard, maid, and servant into the throne room. Elsa herself was seated on her ice-encrusted throne, while Anna, Kristoff, Fritz, Olaf, and Mary stood at her side. Anna and Kristoff now sported matching bandages from snowman-related injuries, and Olaf was back to only one nose and two arms.

“...only a small hiccup with my powers,” Elsa was saying. “I apologize for the panic my snowmen caused, and I'll do anything I can to make it up to you. Really, when you think about it, this is a good thing. No one was hurt, and the more experiences I have with my magic, the more I'll know how to avoid these problems in the future.” Elsa gave the crowd a strained smile. “But, of course, hopefully there won't _be_ any problems in the future. I don't plan on losing control of my powers ever again.” (In actuality, Elsa would be holding a distressingly similar staff meeting following Anna's birthday next June.)

Mary frowned as she overlooked the palace staff. They seemed to be having mixed reactions. Some, like Kai and Gerda, looked perfectly happy and forgiving, while others – the elderly council members in particular – weren't bothering to conceal their scowls. Mary couldn't even bring herself to look Anders's way.

“...spare no expense repairing the courtyard. That's all I have to say. Please go about your business.”

And with that, the palace staff flooded out the room. Mary found herself counting the number of people who gawked at her or walked a bit faster when Mary got near, but she gave up around thirty or so. Mary found her eyes drifting towards her feet... which might be why she collided with Fritz.

“Oof!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Mary impulsively grabbed Fritz's arm to stop him from face-planting. The two of them held that pose for a solid minute, staring at each other.

“I, um, need to go do a... thing,” mumbled Fritz, tugging his arm free.

“Right, right,” said Mary. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Fritz spent another minute standing there in silence.

“Fritz, listen!” Mary blurted out. “About what happened-”

“ _Super important thing to do! Bye!_ ” The next second, Fritz was out the door.

Mary hung her head as returned to Elsa's throne. “They hate me.”

“That's not true, Mary...” Elsa sat up to stroke her snowy hair. “People are only scared of you. Once they see that my snowmen are harmless-”

“I did this to myself,” said Mary, her head drooping even lower. “I was so taken with the promises Sussebassen made...” She looked down at herself. Mary was back to wearing her ice-clothes. Discarding them had been Sussebassen's idea. To distance themselves from their oppressors, he'd said.

Elsa gave Mary a concerned look. “Are you alright, Mary?”

For not the first time, Mary tried to tell Elsa about the crippled man, but the words refused to come. “I'm fine.”

Judging from her face, Elsa didn't buy it in the slightest. “We're going to have a long talk, I promise,” she said sternly, “but first I need to deal with my responsibilities as queen. I'll try and make my council meeting short.”

“Can I come with you?” asked Mary.

“Again?” frowned Elsa. Mary nodded. “Wow, I don't think anyone else has ever taken such an interest in my politics.”

“I just want to help you,” said Mary. “I want to be...” She faltered. “...useful.”

Elsa smiled, but it failed to reach her eyes. “I see. Well, I'll be glad to have you around.”

Mary was about to follow Elsa out the door, but then she felt a tug at her dress. Mary looked down to see Olaf bobbing by her knees.

“Mary!” he said brightly. “The rain's stopped. Know what that means?”

Mary found herself smiling. “Mud?”

“Yeah! Come on!” Olaf bolted out the door before Mary could say another word.

She looked to Elsa.

“I have plenty of council meetings,” Elsa said. “You can come to the next one.”

* * *

Scarcely five minutes later, Mary and Olaf were in the middle of the garden, painted totally brown and sitting before the most amazing mudman ever constructed by snowmen.

“...Elsa totally _could_ bring it to life,” Olaf was saying. “I mean, I'm alive, and I'm not _all_ snow.” He wiggled his twig-arms to illustrate his point.

“But you still _have_ snow,” said Mary. “This thing's all mud.”

“So? Just put an ice cube in it.”

“By that logic, Elsa could bring _anything_ to life.” Honestly, Mary hadn't expected herself to be smiling and laughing on the same day Sussebassen had come into her room, yet it was hard not to when Olaf was around. “There's probably a certain quota of snow-and-ice her snowmen have to meet...”

“Hey, Mary?” Suddenly, Olaf looked introspective – or about as introspective as he was capable of looking, anyways. “I'm glad you're happy again.”

Mary glanced away. She wished Olaf was right. “Olaf? I'm sorry for yelling at you.”

Olaf's face stayed blank. “When was that?”

“You don't remember? I was in my room, and you came in, and I called you an idiot and slammed the door on you.”

“Oh yeah.” Olaf shrugged, or rather, bobbed his twigs-arms up and down. “You were just cranky. It's okay.”

“No it's not.” Mary took his twig in her hand. “I shouldn't have said it to you. I was wrong. You may not be the smartest snowman, but you're my brother. I love you.”

“And you're my sister. I love you, too.” Without an instant of hesitation, Olaf gave Mary a warm hug – smearing her with even more mud.

“Hey, Olaf?” Mary's eyes fell on a nearby rain puddle. Her pupils locked with her reflection's. “Do... Do you think phantoms are ever satisfied with their existence?”

“Hmm...” Olaf pondered this for a moment. “Well, that's why we need to find them. So we can make them happy.”

“Make them happy?” repeated Mary. “You say that like it's easy.”

“What are you talking about? It _is_ easy. I mean, check out the size of this puddle!” Without another word, Olaf pounced in, splashing mud all over his sister.

The rest of the evening was spent less on philosophy, more on mudball-fighting.

 


	16. Staying Faithful

Mary turned over under the covers. The blankets were warm and the mattress was soft, yet somehow they didn't feel as soothing as they ought to. Mary had spent the vast majority of the week lying in this bed, but now she felt too restless to stay still. Mary sat up, shook off some of the snowflakes accumulating from her personal flurry, and looked around her bedroom. The chessboard was still lying on the rug with stray pieces scattered about, Fritz's stuffed bear still sat in its place on the shelf, and the latest book Mary had been reading – _Amorous in Atlantica_ – still lay on its spine on the bookcase. How on earth had she survived going an entire week without reading?

With a pang, Mary spotted the wastepaper basket. Her human anatomy book lay inside, or at least what was left of it. What on earth had been wrong with her? She'd adored that book!

Mary sighed and wiped some flakes of mud off her glasses with the bedsheet. After Mary's and Olaf's play session, Gerda had stopped them at the front door and made a big fuss. Olaf had been forced to wait in the courtyard until Elsa could magically clean him again, but Gerda had insisted on dragging Mary inside and bathing her, seeing as Mary wasn't made of snow and therefore wouldn't dissolve the instant she touched water.

Gerda was one of the precious few staff members who dared to act nice to Elsa's snowmen. This little hiccup with the snowman rebellion, Gerda had said, was nothing compared to the trouble Elsa's powers used to cause. A few years back, Elsa couldn't go two days without coating her entire room in ice, and that was before she could unfreeze it at will.

Mary glanced down at her body under the covers. Somehow, the _lack_ of private parts had been more embarrassing. It had been the elephant in the room as Gerda scrubbed her hair, trying not to stare at Mary's smooth, featureless ice-skin. Ugh, things had been so much easier before Mary was self-conscious about that...

 _No_. Mary forced herself out of that mindset. She didn't want to be blissfully happy like Olaf. Didn't want to be imaginary. Mary _liked_ thinking. She wanted to live. Mary repeated it to herself, as if making sure it was still true.

_I want to live. I want to live._

Funny how Mary hadn't realized it until moments before being erased. It was true what they said – You don't appreciate what you have until-

“Mary?”

Mary was shaken from her thoughts by the door swinging open. Her head shot towards the doorway to find Elsa standing there. Her creator. Her beloved, the one who'd given her life to save Mary.

“The council meeting's over,” Elsa said. “Sorry I didn't come sooner. I had to clean up Olaf. Did you two have fun?”

Mary grunted in reply.

Elsa stood in the doorway for another moment before slowly moving to sit on Mary's bed across from her. “Are you ready to talk?”

Mary hugged her knees. “As ready as I'll ever be.”

“Alright, then, let's talk.”

There was a pronounced silence.Elsa stared at the wall. Mary stared at the floor.

 _Tick, tock, tick, tock,_ went the clock.

“Mary, your glasses!” On impulse, Elsa snatched the glasses from Mary's nose, conjured up an ice-cloth, wiped off a microscopic speck of mud, and then returned them.

“Thank you,” said Mary dully.

It was as Mary sat up to adjust her glasses that Elsa caught sight of her exposed chest. “Where's your dress?”

“It got too muddy,” said Mary. “I left it out in the sun to melt.”

“Here.” Elsa waved a hand, causing a fresh dress to sprout over Mary's body. “And what about your shoes?”

Mary shifted under the covers. “They were muddy, too.” The words had hardly left her mouth before a new pair appeared on her feet beneath the covers. “Elsa, wait!”

Elsa frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“I...” Mary gave Elsa an apologetic look, as if she was trying to say something horribly insulting in the gentlest way possible. “I hate walking in heels.”

“Oh.” Mary hadn't known how Elsa would to react, but she hadn't expected laughter. “Why didn't you say something sooner?”

“I don't know,” said Mary truthfully.

“Alright, then...” With another flick of her wrist, Elsa dissolved the ice-heels back into nothingness. “How about some regular slippers instead?”

“That would be fine.” The next instant, a pair of shoes formed on Mary's feet with heels that _weren't_ six inches off the ground.

“You'll look shorter, though,” said Elsa.

“Is _that_ why people wear those things?” scoffed Mary. “Why on earth would anyone care how tall they are?”

Elsa shrugged. “They just do.”

“Women's fashion is stupid!”

A smirk wormed its way into Elsa's face. “I've seen men wear them, too.”

“ _No_.” Mary's frustration was replaced with disbelief. “Who?”

“The Duke of Weaseltown.”

The two of them shared some giggles. It was enough to make Mary lightheaded. When was the last time she and Elsa had laughed together?

As the laughter died down, Mary took Elsa's hands in her own. “I'm sorry, Mama. For... For everything. I should never have thrown that temper tantrum. It's just, when I heard you were sailing away, I...” Her voice trailed off.

“I know we haven't talked about it, but I take it you've learned why...” Elsa paused to choose her words. “...why my parents aren't around anymore?”

The question hung in the air.

“I'm sorry.” The instant she outstretched her arms, Elsa trapped Mary in a tight hug.

“It's alright, it's alright.” Elsa tired unsuccessfully to laugh. “I'm actually glad we're talking about this. To be honest, it's always bothered me how Olaf's never seemed too upset about it... about how he'll never get to meet them. Well, to be fair, he's never upset about anything.”

Mary nodded and silently pressed her cheek against Elsa's.

“It happens to everyone, really,” Elsa said. “It's part of life.”

“When will _I_ die?” asked Mary.

Elsa pondered this for a moment. “You and your siblings are born from my imagination. Maybe you'll go when I go. Maybe once I'm gone, everything – my dress, the Ice Palace, all my ice and snow – will just vanish.” She let out a wry laugh. “I guess Hans was counting on that when he tried to decapitate me.”

Mary managed to give a weak smile. “Then that means we'll always have each other. I'm glad. I never want to lose you. I never want to lose my mama.” The smile was gone as quickly as it'd appeared. “Does it ever stop hurting?”

“It waxes and wanes.” As she spoke, Elsa gently released Mary and edged towards the door. “Lately, I've... I've been thinking about my mother a lot. I miss her.”

“I wish I could've met her.”

Mary half-expected her to cry, but she surprised Mary by yawning.

“Tired, are we?” chuckled Mary.

“What a day... I need to get some rest. Goodnight, dear.” With that, Elsa made for the door. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Mary?” But then Elsa paused and turned back. “I'm so glad you're happy again. I was really worried you... you were some sort of avatar of my depression.”

“What?” Mary gave a start. “What do you mean?”

“I've felt...” Elsa turned away, shutting her eyes. “...all the things you've felt before. Lonely and useless and guilty... like your whole life, you've caused nothing but problems, and.. it would be so much better for everyone if you just... didn't exist anymore.”

Mary felt a little like she was tumbling down a flight of stairs. “Elsa...”

For the umpteenth time, Mary was overcome with the urge to tell Elsa about the crippled man. There wouldn't be a more appropriate time than now. All she had to do was blurt it out. Mary opened her mouth... but no sound came out.

Oh well. Mary would tell her in the morning. Definitely.

* * *

“Phew!” Morten dropped the shovel so he could wipe the sweat from his brow. “All done.”

Henrik placed the last few shards into the hole, then kicked the dirt back over it. “There we go. No one will look for magic amulet remains out here in the middle of nowhere, right?”

“Where'd the amulet thingy even come from, anyways?” asked Morten. “I mean, this High Priest guy just _happens_ to have a weapon that perfectly counters the queen's magic? Seems a little overly convenient, doesn't it?”

“Yeah, well, the world's a crazy place,” shrugged Henrik. “I mean, we've got a queen with magic ice powers, and there's all those rumors about trolls in the forest. I'd be surprised if some dude with a magic-stealing artifact _didn't_ come after Queen Elsa.”

“I guess so...” Morten grunted, then retrieved his shovel. The two guards began their march down the dirt road through the wilderness.

“You know, I heard about this one queen who got sick and, like, drank a flower, gave birth, and _bam!_ ” Henrik threw his hands out theatrically. “Her daughter has healing magic.”

“That sounds dumb.”

“It's true!”

“Why would the daughter get the healing magic? Why wouldn't the mom have it? What, does the magic flower juice go from her stomach to her uterus?”

Henrik rolled his eyes. “It's _magic_ , Morten. Magic doesn't have to make sense.”

“I guess not...”

“Besides, the stomach and uterus both lead to the same-”

“ _Okay,_ I think we've said enough on that particular subject.”

“Sorry...”

For several minutes, the guards walked down the forest trail in silence.

“So... wanna go make out behind Oaken's Trading Post?”

“You have to ask?”

* * *

The Limited Edition Sparkle Snow Goddess doll sat on its place of honor atop the ceremonial altar in the center of the bedroom. Maybe it was just Fritz's imagination, but he could swear the doll was giving him a judgmental stare. Was the goddess displeased with him? That was impossible! Fritz had made plenty of ritual sacrifices!

“Fritz?” A tiny shriek escaped Fritz's mouth as the door swung open. He spun around, making sure the altar was hidden behind his back. Standing in the doorway was Mary. Fritz had to resist the urge to shriek again.

Mary sniffed the air. “Why does it smell like burnt chocolate in here?”

“No reason,” Fritz said quickly.

“Listen, we need to talk.” Mary didn't look scary, exactly – In fact, with her hair tied up and her high-heels traded for slippers, she looked prettier than ever – but Fritz couldn't help but cross his legs ever so slightly as she drew nearer. “I have an apology to make to you. A lot of apologies, actually. First of all... I'm sorry for... for what I tried to do.”

The frostier Mary's cheeks grew, the redder Fritz's grew. “You don't have to apologize again. I mean, you stopped when I asked you to...”

“I just don't want you to be hurt because of me.” As she spoke, Mary absently fiddled with her ice-glasses. “Please, if there's anything I can do to make it up to you-”

“No, no-” Fritz took a deep breath. “I'm the one who should apologize. You were right – If you were a human woman, I probably wouldn't have freaked out so much. Yeah, you didn't know what you were doing, but you only wanted to fit in with normal people. You were just trying to do what you thought I wanted.”

“Fritz, no!” The distance between them grew smaller. “I had no right to accuse you like that! You were right, _I_ was the one who forced myself on _you_. You never did anything to imply you expected that from me. The things I said when I was angry... they weren't true. I'm sorry.” Mary shut her eyes. “I screwed up, Fritz. I understand if you don't trust me anymore, but I at least wanted to clear the air between us. I want to be your friend, if that's what you want.”

“Friend?” Fritz found himself glancing back at the Limited Edition Sparkle Snow Goddess doll. It was still giving him that stare. “Yeah, um... if that's what we both want, then... yeah. Friendship it is.”

Mary tried unsuccessfully to smile. “Good, good. Whatever makes you happy.” There was a long silence. “Well. Guess I'll be going, then.” She slowly turned around, then walked a step out the door. Then another step. And then another. And then-

“ _Mary wait please baby don't leave me I want you back I still love you breaking up was the biggest mistake of my life!_ ” And then Fritz was hanging off her dress and blubbering like an infant.

It was hard to say if Mary looked shocked or delighted. “Fritz! You- You mean that?”

Fritz nodded pitifully. “I've been going crazy without you. It's like I'm regressing. I can't go back to obsessing over Elsa! I- I-” He pointed at the altar behind him. “ _I joined an Elsa-worshipping cul_ _t!_ ”

“You still want me?” Mary started to grin for a second before the other shoe dropped. “Wait, a cult?”

There wasn't an inch of skin of Fritz's face that wasn't bright red. “Um, well, I went to Pagania with Elsa, and everyone there seemed so obsessed with her, and I felt, I don't know, comradery-”

“ _Fritzy_.” Mary looked like she was on the brink of melting. “You really want me back? You're not just saying that?”

“I- Uh- Err- Uh-” Fritz struggled to form a coherent sentence. “Yes. I mean it.”

“And...” Mary brushed a strand of hair from her eyes and pushed her glasses up her nose. “...you don't mind that we can't...?””

“I don't want to have sex!” Fritz blurted out.

Mary cocked an eyebrow.

“I mean, I don't want to have sex _with you._ ”

“Wow, that makes me feel so much better.”

“ _That's not what I meant to say!_ ” Fritz required a couple deep breaths to compose himself. “What I mean is, it doesn't matter to me. It was never important.” Slowly, gradually, his eyes met with Mary's. “When I'm with you, I don't feel like a wimpy little loser. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be pining after Elsa and- and visiting my momma in jail so she can push me around.” He took Mary's hands in his. “I need you. I've missed you. _That's_ what matters.”

By this point, Mary's eyes were quivering. “You'd really be okay with... with never...?”

“Uh, to be perfectly honest, I'm terrified of sex, so your sexlessness is kind of a relief.” Fritz gently released her hands so he could bring a palm to her cheek. “I'm sorry for how I acted. It doesn't matter if you look like a girl or a faceless ice-creature – You're beautiful either way. I love you.”

“Oh, Fritz...” Now her eyes were watering, too. “Come here.” Mary threw her arms around Fritz's waist and pulled him towards her.

“Mary...”

Their faces drew closer, and their eyes shut, and their lips parted...

And then they burst into a spontaneous musical number.

* * *

Elsa watched the ship bob up and down in the harbor, its flag fluttering in the breeze. The flag of Pagania was, predictably, an elaborate snowflake design resting between two sky blue stripes.

“I hope you don't feel unwelcome in Arendelle.” Elsa turned to the Archbishop, who was kneeling at her side. “I understand the High Priest was acting alone.”

“I'm afraid my responsibilities require me to return to Pagania as soon as possible,” said the Archbishop. “With the High Priest behind bars, the church rests squarely on my shoulders. But I assure you, my lady, I have every intention of exposing my associate's crimes and ensuring he spends the rest of his life in our highest security prison. Of course, we'll also need to interrogate him to ensure he's not hiding any more magic trinkets up his sleeve.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Elsa found her eyes dwelling on the waves crashing over the horizon. “I wish you a safe voyage.”

“Your blessing means the world to me, Snow Goddess.”

Elsa frowned. “Your faith's not shaken, then? Not even after learning the truth about the priest?”

“Of course not,” said the bishop with a smirk. “Protestant Elsianity is the religion that wants to sacrifice you to release your godhood. Orthodox Elsianity is fine with you the way you are.”

Elsa raised an eyebrow, but she thought it best not to press the subject.

“I trust your snowmen have been under control after yesterday's little incident?” added the Archbishop.

“Under as much control as they've ever been.” Elsa stared at her own hands. “If I'm being honest with myself, I'm _still_ not at peace with the fact that I can create life. I don't think I'll ever be.”

“Of course you can create life,” the bishop said simply. “You're a goddess.”

“I've never _felt_ like a goddess.” The slightest smile crossed Elsa's lips. “I've spent most of my life feeling more like a fragile little girl.”

“With all due respect, my lady, after what I saw yesterday-” The Archbishop smiled back. “-that couldn't be further from the truth. Now if you'll excuse me...” He turned to the dock.

“Wait!” Elsa caught him a step away from his ship's ramp. “Before you go, I have something for you.”

The bishop turned back, curious. Elsa waved her hand. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a flurry of white feathers descended from the sky and landed on her finger.

“I want you to have this.” Elsa gently transferred the snowbird from her finger to the bishop's. The snowbird preened itself lazily.

“My lady.” The Archbishop's eyes had gone the size of dinner plates. “I... I can't accept this.”

“I insist.” Elsa gave the snowbird one last kiss on the head before backing away. “This is one of my more intelligent snowmen. He's pretty quiet, but he can talk when he needs to. He can patrol Pagania from above. If the Clovisians try anything, you'll get an early warning and a way to contact me quickly.”

The bishop was speechless. Elsa was starting to worry she'd given him a heart attack.

“I hope our nations can have a long and prosperous friendship,” Elsa said, then added, “as equals,” when the bishop bowed. “I'll be there for you if you ever need me.”

“My lady- No. Queen Elsa.” The Archbishop closed his eyes. “Never before have my people been blessed with a god as restrained and humble as you.” He bowed once again. “You are truly one of a kind.”

They traded another set of smiles. Then the bishop stepped onto the ship and watched his goddess walk off back to the castle.

“Mr. Bishop, wait!” The anchor had almost been completely raised when a scrawny boy finally reached the dock. “I need to talk to you!”

“Ah, I remember you,” said the Archbishop. “You're that royal servant boy who was so eager to convert. What can I do for you, son?”

“I have a confession to make!” said Fritz, panting for air. “I... I can't keep worshiping Elsa like you guys do. I don't think I'm really faithful to her. I think I'm just...” His cheeks reddened. “...attracted to her.”

“I see.” The Archbishop bowed his head solemnly. “Well, son, your dilemma is, unfortunately, a common one among the Paganians. Incredibly common. Nigh universal, even.”

“Really? What do you do about it?”

The bishop leaned over the edge of the ship to pat Fritz's shoulder. “Son, let me tell you a story. Once, many years ago, my cousin was a judge in Paris. He tried to act all self-righteous, but when he thought no one was looking, he had the absolute most perverse lust for women.” His eyes narrowed. “It was sickening.”

“And then he redeemed himself?” said Fritz.

“What? No, he's burning in hell as we speak.”

“Oh.”

“What I'm saying is, you might want to make peace with your inevitable damnation.”

And with that, the Archbishop walked off below deck.

Fritz swallowed.

* * *

Not ten minutes later, Fritz was back in his bedroom, furiously shoving the sacrificial altar, all the chocolate he had yet to burn, the tattered remains of the informative pamphlet, and even the Limited Edition Sparkle Snow Goddess doll into his wastepaper basket. No more Elsa-worshipping for him! From now on, Fritz was one hundred percent completely devoted to Mary. This whole “Elsianity” thing was probably just a scam religion anyways. It's not like Fritz had ever bought into it in the first place.

Fritz placed the wastepaper basket out of sight in the corner of his room. That was better. Somehow, a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Fritz and his girlfriend had worked out their differences like rational adults – with a musical number – and he was completely over his freakish obsession with Elsa. Now Fritz could finally look himself in the mirror without cringing. With no small amount of pride, he marched out his bedroom and shut the door behind him...

...and a minute later, Fritz scurried back into the room, dug through the wastepaper basket for the Limited Edition Sparkle Snow Goddess doll, and hid it in the back corner of the closet where no one would find it.

 


	17. Better Than Imagined

“Shh! Come on!”

Musical numbers are nice and all, but the most integral part of getting back together after a breakup is the make-out session. At first, Mary had been reluctant – She was all too aware now that her freezing cold body wasn't the best suited for bringing Fritz pleasure – but Fritz had insisted kissing a beautiful girl was worth any amount of numbness.

Mary giggled as she dragged Fritz by the hand through the secluded castle hall. They spotted a tapestry, then traded glances. The brief meeting of their eyes was actually an elaborate language developed by shy couples, and it translates as, “This looks like a good place to make our tongues fight each other.” The next instant, Fritz and Mary were concealed behind the tapestry. There was only a few milometers between their faces when Fritz's back collided with another back.

The air was filled with the sounds of screaming and plunger-noises as a mass of bodies tumbled out from behind the tapestry.

“What the-? Really, Mary? Again?” Kristoff gave Mary his sourest look as he pulled himself and Anna to their feet, straightening his collar.

“I am _so_ sorry!” Mary's was the only face in the room that was blue instead of red. “I didn't mean to interrupt your sex again!”

“Wait, what?” said Fritz, his voice was muffled by the rug.

“We were just kissing, thank you very much. We're not _that_ kinky.” Anna gave the opposing couple a suspicious glare. “What are _you two_ doing?”

“We were just kissing, too,” Fritz said as Mary helped him up.

“Oh-” Kristoff did a double take. “-so you're back together?”

Mary nodded. “We've made up. It was a silly argument, really. Fritz said he'll be chaste if it means he can be with me.”

“Seriously?” Anna smiled at them. “Aww, that's sweet.”

“Uh, you sure you can handle that, buddy?” Kristoff looked at Fritz with something approaching pity.

Fritz stared at his shoes. “I don't exactly have a line of women waiting at my doorstep to throw themselves at me.”

Mary gave him a look.

“And also I love Mary!” Fritz quickly added. “Really, I mean it.” He took his hand in hers. “We've got each other, and that's all that matters.” This seemed to appease Mary – she kissed his cheek.

“I have to thank both of you,” Mary said, turning back to Anna and Kristoff. “It was your advice that helped me see straight.”

“No problem,” said Kristoff. “I don't call myself the 'friends-with-love-experts guy' for nothing.”

“But, well, I did have a question for you.” As she spoke, Mary fiddled with her ice-glasses. “Eventually, you two are going to marry and start a family, aren't you?”

“Yep.” Anna put a loving arm around Kristoff's waist. “That's the plan.”

“But what will Fritz and I do?”

“How are we supposed to know?” asked Kristoff. “It's you guys' relationship, not ours.”

“So then...” Mary turned to Fritz. “...will you marry me?”

It's a good thing Fritz wasn't eating anything – he'd have choked to death. “ _Right now?_ ”

“No, no!” Mary said hurriedly. “I meant someday.”

“Well, uh...” You could practically see Fritz's brain racing to find the least offensive answer. “Yes. _I mean maybe. I mean I don't know!_ ”

“And what about children?” asked Mary. “How are we supposed to have children? Should Elsa make us some snowmen, or should we adopt?”

Fritz's brain was obviously not equipped to handle such questions. It seemed to be on the brink of shutting down.

“Alright, table that discussion before you give your boyfriend a heart attack.” Kristoff started to lead Anna away by the hand. “Look, if you don't have any more questions, we've got some important making out to do...”

Soon enough, Mary and Fritz were left alone again.

“Uh... Mary? About what I said.” Fritz took a deep breath. “You know I love you, right? I _do_ want to marry you. In the future. When we're both ready.”

Mary brushed off some snow from where her personal flurry had sprinkled on Fritz's shoulder. “I understand, sweetheart.”

“Really, I mean it,” Fritz said, his voice a bit sterner. “I love you. Before I met you, I was a complete wallflower. Even Elsa, I've never been as comfortable around as you. I was the kinda guy who let my momma push me around... Let myself feel worthless...”

 _Worthless_. The image of the crippled man flashed through Mary's head. She and Fritz were in private, weren't they? And he was her boyfriend, wasn't he? If Mary couldn't confide in him, who could she confide in?

Mary opened her mouth. No sound came out. Slowly, she closed it back. It wasn't important, she told herself. She'd tell him later. She didn't want to ruin the mood.

“But, um, Mary?” Fritz swallowed. “There's something else that's been bugging me. You don't think I'm... too obsessed with Elsa, do you?”

“Of course not, silly.” Mary chuckled to herself. “I was only mad at you before – I was never really jealous of Elsa.”

“So... so it's not like I have to throw away all my Elsa memorabilia, right? Especially the super expensive irreplaceable limited edition stuff? Just hypothetically.”

“Well, I've still got that Elsa stuffed bear you gave me.”

“ _Oh thank God_ \- I mean-!” Fritz cleared his throat. “That's cool, I guess. I'm glad you like it.”

“Come on, Fritz...” Mary gave her partner in crime a mischievous smirk. “Looks like the tapestry's all ours.”

Fritz's blood was a few degrees shy of boiling.

* * *

“So how was your date with Olive?”

A lumpy snowman bounced around the ankles of a decrepit old man as the two of them wandered down the castle halls.

“It was amazing,” said Anders. “Olive's actually a grown woman with emotional maturity. It was like the exact opposite of being around a teenage-”

Suddenly, Anders froze. He spun his head towards a tapestry on the far side of the hall.

“What is it?” asked Olaf.

Anders's eyes narrowed. “Shh. I thought I heard something.”

As the two of them strained to listen. Anders could just barely make out a pair of hushed voices:

“ _Ah! Mary, you're cold_.”

“ _Yes, but you like it._ ”

“ _..._ _Yeah, you're right_.”

The tapestry began to shimmy.

“Ugh, speak of the devil.” Anders turned around for the stairs, leading Olaf away. “Come on, let's go somewhere with less hormones.”

“Usually, I'd be confused right now, but I actually know exactly what those two are doing,” Olaf said proudly. “Elsa gave me some great sex ed!”

“I'm not even going to ask.”

* * *

Elsa let out a groan. Now in addition to the stack of legal documents on her desk, she had to write a stack of apology letters to any civilians who'd been terrorized by snowmen lately. One of these days, the pen was going to freeze to her hand and be stuck that way forever.

“Elsa!” A certain feisty princess teleported into the study. “Kristoff had to go harvest ice. Know what that means?”

“He has a better work ethic than you?”

“It means I'm officially bored again!” Anna threw out her hands theatrically.

“Really, Anna?” Elsa managed to wrench the pen from her hand so she could fold her arms without splattering ink on her ice-dress. “We were just attacked by an army of snowmen yesterday. How much excitement do you need in your life?”

“Eh, that was over way too fast.”

“At least you got 'another awesome adventure' like you wanted.”

“True.” Anna grinned at the memory. “Man, I just wish I could've kept your powers longer. That was the best part.”

“Well, it's probably for the best considering what you said you'd do if you had ice powers...”

“What was that?”

“Nothing." Elsa sat up out of her seat to give Anna a hug. “For what it's worth, I appreciate not being in a coma anymore. You saved my life _again_. I've lost count of how much I owe you.”

“You ought to open a tab,” said Anna, hugging her back.

Elsa released her sister and returned to her desk. “I've learned something from this. My control is better than it's been in years, but it's not perfect. We're lucky no one was hurt.” She sighed and picked up her pin.

Anna, however, only looked happier. “I figured you'd feel that way. That's why I found something that'll cheer you up.”

Elsa turned back to her, raising an eyebrow.

“So here's the thing-” As she spoke, Anna dug through her dress pockets, carelessly dropping rocks, candy wrappers, and even a live frog onto the rug. “I was going through Mom-and-Dad's stuff, which I, like, never do, but you mentioned something that bugged me, so I looked, and _voila._ ”

Anna held the object out proudly. It was so faded and misshapen by now, you wouldn't have known it was a stuffed rabbit if not for ears. The thing was covered in an equal amount of dust and frost.

Elsa's eyes went wide. “Is that-?”

“-Sussebassen,” finished Anna. “The original one. A little worse for wear, but look-” Anna held it to Elsa's face, which made her cough. “-it's been sewn up and stuff. Mom must've done it.” Anna set the bunny on Elsa's desk, then met her eyes. “See, they didn't throw it away after all. They kept it all this time.”

Elsa's face had completely transformed – She looked downright lively. “They never lost faith in me,” she realized. “You know, lately, I've almost been angry at them.” She shut her eyes. “They knew about Pagania, and I couldn't help but wonder, if the Paganians were so accepting of me, why our parents never let me visit there.” She chuckled to herself. “But now I see they were right to be careful.”

“Well, they were right to be careful about that one specific thing, anyways,” muttered Anna.

Elsa nodded. “Everything's worked out in the end.” Gently, she retrieved the stuffed rabbit, shook off some dust, and held it out in front of her.

The toy glowed bright blue.

“What are you-?” Anna barely had time to cry out in shock before the light faded. Elsa dropped the rabbit back onto the desk. “Uh, Elsa, what was-?”

Anna's question was answered by the stuffed rabbit turning its head her way and growling.

“When we destroyed the amulet, Sussebassen's essence was freed,” said Elsa. “I wasn't going to bring him back, but since you found the original toy... it felt right, somehow.”

Sussebassen let out a feral shriek and dived at Anna, trying to his hardest to claw her face off.

_Squeak-EE._

But as it turns out, stuffed animals aren't the most formidable of opponents. Sussebassen bounced off Anna's head and tumbled to the floor.

“And, err, I'm not giving him any sharp body parts this time,” added Elsa.

“Cool!” Anna picked up Sussebassen's newer, squishier body, despite his squeals of protest. “So you can bring toys to life, too?”

Elsa shook her head. “My magic rubbed off on it, remember?” She gestured to the frost covering every patch of Sussebassen's artificial fur. “I guess it's the same way Olaf's carrot nose and twig arms work.”

“Eh, it's magic – it can work however it wants.” Anna held Sussebassen up to eye level. “Who's a cute widdle guy? Who's a cute widdle guy?”

Sussebassen made a noise halfway between a hiss and a groan.

Anna glanced back at Elsa. “So, uh, I guess he's gonna keep being a bad bunny, then?”

“Well...” Elsa reached out and scooped up her bad bunny. “Sometimes people don't understand Sussebassen, and then he acts out. But he's not really bad. He's sorry.”

After a few scratches to the right spot between his ears, Sussebassen happily cuddled up in his mama's arms.

* * *

Mary didn't even try to pretend she wasn't severely weirded out. Mary stood in the doorway of her bedroom, giving Sussebassen's new body an unblinking stare.

“...so you see, this is how I always intended Sussebassen to be,” Elsa was saying. “I had no right to alter his personality the way I did.”

“But- But he could talk,” said Mary, almost in a daze. “He was intelligent.”

“Yeah, and he also wanted to overthrow humanity,” deadpanned Anna.

“Sussebassen only got that way because I had a nightmare,” said Elsa. “He was more of a manifestations of my fears than a person.” When she noticed Mary's face, Elsa impulsively took her hand. “Is everything alright, dear? I... I know turning on Sussebassen couldn't have been easy.”

Mary forced a smile. “He promised me a lot of things... but I hadn't realized how far he was willing to go.”

“It's okay, Mary,” said Anna, patting her shoulder. “You don't have to be ashamed of liking Sussebassen. You can come out of the closet now. Embrace your snowmosexuality!”

Elsa and Mary gave her the driest stares in their arsenals.

“Sorry.” Anna bowed her head. “I'm, uh, I'm gonna go to bed now...” She slinked out the room.

Elsa sighed and shook her head. “Anna's right, it's late.” She dropped Sussebassen on the ground so he could hop off.

“Goodnight, Mama.” Mary gave Elsa a hug, then marched back into her room.

Elsa, however, frowned and followed after her. “Mary, wait. What are you going to do? Will you lie in bed with Fritz?”

“Not tonight,” Mary said dully. “I feel restless. I need to _do_ something. I just...” She glanced from the chessboard in the corner to the books on the shelf. All of it had apparently remained untouched. “...don't know what.”

“Do you want me to make it so that you can sleep?” asked Elsa. “I'm not sure if my powers can do that, but I can try.”

Mary shook her head. “I'm not sure that would solve my problem.”

“Mary...” Elsa regarded her sternly. “Listen to me. If you ever start to feel lonely or worthless again, I need you to tell me. Don't keep it bottled in. Can you do that for me?”

Mary slowly nodded. “Something...” She had to blurt it out. Rip off the bandage. “Something happened to me. There was a-”

The words caught in her throat. The more Mary resolved to tell someone, the more difficult it became, and right now, it was a Herculean task. Finally, after a solid minute of straining, Mary jerked away from Elsa. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

“Mary.” Elsa stepped closer. “Is it the crippled man?”

Mary nearly cried out in surprise. “What-? How did you-?”

“Sussebassen mentioned him,” said Elsa. “He said, 'Need I remind you what the crippled man did?' I was a little too distracted at the time to ask about it.” She took another step closer. “Was it the man whose leg you broke? Did he do something to you?”

Mary took a deep breath – mostly to steady herself given her lack of lungs. “When I ran away and... and you thought I'd tried to erase myself on purpose...” Why was this so hard? Why was it so difficult to say a few simple words? “It... wasn't exactly on purpose.”

* * *

There was a cottage in the fjords. It was nice enough – not as nice as a proper house, but a suitable place to crash when your wife leaves you because you spent all the family's money hiring thugs to enact a revenge scheme. And, most importantly, it was several miles from the border of Arendelle. The crippled man had judged this a safe enough distance, and indeed, for the next two weeks, he'd been undisturbed. Even when he'd spotted some white birds circling overhead a couple hours ago, he'd assumed it was nothing.

It wasn't until the swirling vortex of snow touched down on his doorstep that the crippled man realized he was in trouble.

He tried to make a run for the horse, there was only so fast one can go without a fully functional pair of legs. And it didn't help that the horse bolted off in fear once the snowflakes started taking the shape of dozens of snow-monsters.

“You- You took everything from me, sorceress,” the crippled man spat, trying unsuccessfully to pull himself up off the grass. “You come here to finally finish the job?”

In the midst of the vortex, the snowstorm parted, revealing a woman standing stalk-straight. Her eyes were fixed on the crippled man, unwavering.

“You are hereby charged with committing torture.” The queen's voice was barely audible over the shrieking snowstorm. “One of the highest crimes under Arendelle law. Per Arendelle's agreement with our neighbor, you are to be taken across the border and tried in an Arendelle court.” She nodded to one of her snow-monsters. “Marshmallow, if you please.”

“What, is this because I smashed up one of your freaks?” The crippled man laughed. “Someone has to stand up to you. _Someone has to stand up to you!_ ” As he raved, Marshmallow heaved the man over his shoulder and carried him to Elsa. “You might have control for now, but if you were really so high-and-mighty, you wouldn't keep yourself alive and risk the rest of us freezing to death! You hear me? You're better off d- _Nngh!_ ” It was at this point that his speech was obstructed by the sudden formation of ice over his mouth.

Marshmallow held the man outwards, allowing Elsa to meet his eyes.

“That was what I had to say legally before I could arrest you,” she said. “Those were my words to you as a queen. Now let me give you my words as a mother.” Around Elsa's feet, the snow was twisting and freezing into icicles, every last one of them pointed at the crippled man's neck. “You will live to _regret_ hurting my child.”

* * *

“Mama!”

By the time Elsa returned to Mary's bedroom, not even the sky was awake. Elsa's hair was a mess, her dress was drenched in sweat, and she collapsed into Mary's arms the instant she was through the doors.

“We- We found him,” Elsa panted. “The town guard is going to interrogate him... hunt down all those thugs he hired...”

“You didn't have to do that for me.” Mary gave Elsa the tightest hug she could muster.

“I don't blame you for breaking his leg anymore.” Elsa let out a breathless laugh. “It was all I could do to keep myself from freezing his toes off.”

“You could've waited until morning.” Mary kissed Elsa's cheek.

Elsa smiled feebly. “How was I supposed to sleep knowing that monster was out there?”

“Mama...” Mary released her creator so she could bring her hands to her eyes. “When that man broke me into pieces, I... I really thought no one would care. Thought it didn't matter.” She buried her face in Elsa's shoulder. “Thank you.”

Elsa yawned in spite of herself. “I need to get to bed, Mary. I'm exhausted.”

“Of course, Mama.” Mary sat up and moved out of the way of the door. “You can sleep in your own bed. I'm going to stay awake. I'll find...” She faltered. “... _something_ to do.”

Mary found herself shutting her eyes. Here she was, fixing to spend another night roaming the castle halls, completely alone. Elsa was back to being Mary's mama, Fritz was back to being her boyfriend... After everything that had happened, Mary couldn't help but ask herself – had anything really changed?

“Mary?”

Mary's eyes shot opened to find Elsa giving her a concerned look. For a brief irrational moment, Mary assumed Elsa had read her mind.

“I almost forgot,” said Elsa. “I have something for you.”

Mary frowned. “What is it?”

Elsa held out her hands, the palms glowing with blue snowflakes. A moment later, where once there had been empty air, Elsa was holding a perfect violin of ice. Every detail from the bow to the strands of icy strings had been captured exactly.

“I've never made an instrument before.” Elsa handed it to Mary sheepishly. “I hope it sounds like it's supposed to.”

Mary accepted the gift wordlessly.

“Oh, and here, before it melts.” Elsa hurriedly added a pair of personal flurries – one for the violin and one for the bow. “Do you like it? Fritz mentioned how much you liked music, and you seemed like you had nothing to do with yourself besides reading books, so I thought-” She caught sight of Mary's face. “What's wrong?” Elsa immediately brought a palm to her cheek. “I know it's been a rough day-”

“Nothing's wrong,” said Mary, wiping her eyes. “I'm just so happy.”

Elsa smiled at her. “For all his mistakes, Sussebassen was right about one thing – if the world doesn't accept you, _you_ have to change _the_ _world_ , not the other way around. You're a smart girl with her whole life ahead of her. Purpose isn't something that's handed to you – You have to make it for yourself.”

Mary nodded. “Thank you, Mama. For everything.” She gestured to the bags under Elsa's eyes. “Now you need some sleep. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, dear. I love you.”

“Oh, and Mama?” Finally, a genuine smile worked its way across Mary's face. “I know I never met your own mama, but... if she was half as good a mother as you, you were lucky.”

The creator and creation shared one last good night kiss on their cheeks, and then Elsa made for the hallway. She took one last glance back just in time to see Mary pull the bow across the violin strings experimentally. Then Elsa walked out the door, leaving it open behind her.

* * *

Elsa had always wanted to learn the violin, but playing instruments had been kind of a challenge when her hands froze everything they touched, and doing it with gloves on hadn't been much easier. She'd been taught how to read sheet music, identify musical notes, and all that (Princesses were expected to know these things), but to this day, Elsa couldn't play the violin for beans.

But now, every night, the bedchambers hallway was filled with the sounds of music. Sure, there were some complaints at first, but each night, the music sounded a little bit nicer, a little more on-key, until finally the complaints stopped.

After all, you'd have to be even grouchier than Anders to complain about getting to listen to the best violinist in Arendelle for free every night. It got to the point where Elsa couldn't fall asleep unless she could make out the faint hum of music wafting over her bed.

She was better than anything Elsa could imagine.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are at the end of my second Frozen fic. I've also got a Fritz spin-off fanfic, and at some point I'll get around to writing an Anna-centric fic set after Frozen Fever (Also, for the record, Frozen Fever is canon to my fanfics. Fritz, Mary, and Anders are just, uh, slightly offscreen in every single shot).
> 
> Anyways, my deepest thanks for all the response and feedback I've gotten, including my wonderful reviewers and the contributors to my TVTropes page. As always, you can find me over in the TVTropes forums.
> 
> (P.S. Mary is totally playing Let It Go on the violin in the ending scene.)


End file.
